


Hide and Seek

by senshoo



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Disorder, Brief Mention of Victor/Viktor Argument, Canon Timeline, Celestino Is The Weird Uncle Everyone Has, Child Abandonment, Child Yuri Plisetsky, Domestic Fluff, Family Dynamics, Found Family, Getting Together, Intensely Suffering Victor Nikiforov, Kid Fic, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Katsuki Yuuri, Rating May Change, Rivals, Single Dad AU, Single Parent Yuuri, Social Media, Social Media Expert Phichit Chulanont, Struggling College Student Katsuki Yuuri, Vaguely referenced child abuse, Victor is a U-Haul Gay, Yuri is basically that vine of the little kid running with the knife, Yuuri is very poor okay, but not for long, kind of?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-05-18 15:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 60,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14855393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/senshoo/pseuds/senshoo
Summary: Thankfully, the walk only took a few moments and soon, Yuuri was juggling both the child and the key while he shouldered his way into the apartment, set the kid down on his secondhand couch, and then sighed, sinking to the floor.One deep breath.Maybe two.And then, it hit him.Holy shit.Did he just kidnap a child?--Or: The one where Yuuri accidentally becomes a father at twenty three. Oh, and there's still skating.





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> yeahhhhhh idk why im doing this but here we go

_ January 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

Yuuri hadn’t wanted to particularly think about anything in a very long time. In fact, his mind very particularly numb at this moment, waiting in the freezing rain for the DDOT ordained bus to happen to arrive on time. It wasn’t going to happen. The bus was supposed have arrived ten minutes ago. Yuuri’s socks were wet. His nose was running. Overall, he was thoroughly miserable. Thankfully, Yuuri had picked up the ability to simply close his mind off to his surroundings years ago, and so when the bus finally clunked to a stop in front of him and Yuuri was able to drag his ice-beaten corpse to the back row, he settled into a good dissociation. 

Things had been...well,  _ rough _ to say the least since December when he bombed not only his first (and probably only) shot at the Grand Prix Final, but also frankly ate shit at nationals and failed to qualify for Four Continents. His careers had sunken to an all time low and he barely had any future prospects, but the shit train didn’t stop running there. His American university didn’t particularly care that Yuuri had just experienced a complete ego death over winter break, and so nearly as soon as he had managed to land back in Detroit and cut things off with Celestino, classes were starting. After a long talk with his advisor about potentially postponing his studies so that he could scrape himself back into something vaguely resembling a functioning human being, they arrived to the conclusion that if Yuuri took a semester off, there was no way he would graduate in the following semester given that the  _ one  _ class standing between him and a piece of paper that would guarantee that Yuuri wasn’t a complete failure in  _ everything _ was only offered in the spring. 

Ultimately, Yuuri had really had no choice but to just deal with it. Thankfully, alongside vivid dissociation, “just dealing with it” ranked pretty high on his skills list. 

And so, there Yuuri was. Sitting on a dank bus in Detroit, heading back to the tiny apartment that he shared with Phichit conveniently next to Wayne State so that he could trudge back to this even tinier bedroom and eat his feelings in ramen noodles and chocolate covered pretzels. Thankfully, standing in the rain for so long had left his face dotted in water droplets and so it didn’t look out of place if Yuuri let a few tears slide down his face. He kinda wanted to go home. Probably would after graduation. He might not even walk, just have his degree mailed to him. 

He thunked his head against the window he had leaning against. Why had he waited so long to fulfill the language requirement for his degree? He was  _ Japanese _ he could have taken the proficiency exam in  _ Japanese _ and actually passed without effort for once. But  _ no _ , Yuuri had wanted to be  _ different _ . Yuuri hadn’t  _ wanted _ to take the easy route. Yuuri had come to the US to learn  _ new  _ things. So Yuuri had signed up for  _ Russian _ of all things because Yuuri was a stupid, stupid,  _ stupid _ boy with a  _ stupid  _ crush on someone who didn’t even know he existed--

The pounding in his head informed Yuuri that he had been thunking his head against the window for quite some time. And Yuuri was perfectly content to beat himself unconscious, but was stopped when a tiny hand suddenly shot forward and smacked his forehead furiously several times. 

“Bye-bye boo boo!” A tiny voice called in that decibel that only small children could manage. 

Yuuri flinched and turned to the tiny person sitting next to him with wide eyes. Suddenly, where once the entire back row of the bus had been empty, there was a tiny, blonde haired child sitting next to him. Yuuri gaped and shot his gaze around the bus, attempting to lock eyes with a concerned parent and or guardian only to be met with mostly empty benches. Where had this child come from?  _ And where were his parents _ ?

Yuuri attempted to wrestle his thoughts away from the brink of a full of panic long enough to maintain a calm facade. If this kid got scared and started crying, then Yuuri was sure to start sympathy crying right there with him. Yuuri needed to stay calm. 

“Where’s your mommy?” Yuuri asked in the calmest voice he could manage, attempting that sing-song tone that Yuuko had managed for the triplets. When the kid didn’t respond to Yuuri at all, he asked again, grasping at straws. “Your daddy? Where is your daddy?”

The kid just blinked wide green eyes at him, staring blankly as if he hadn’t understood a single word Yuuri had spoken. Yuuri could feel his heart attempting to beat right out of his chest and his lungs were beginning to tighten, but he had to keep a clear head. Who knew where this kid had come from or where his parents were. He didn’t even have a proper winter coat on to protect against the harsh weather. And his little cheeks looks chapped and red, likely from the wind. 

Yuuri sighed, centered himself, and then stood with a nod. He picked the kid up in a firm grasp and began making his way through the rows on the bus, making sure to pause whenever the bus hit a particularly uneven part of the road so that he wouldn’t stumble. He went row by row, asking everyone he came across if they happened to be missing a blonde toddler and if not, if they had seen who the toddler had come onto the bus with. After a few minutes of this, Yuuri had exhausted his resources and still had no answers. Even the bus driver had seemed clueless. 

He could see his stop coming up and so, not knowing what else to do, Yuuri set the kid down long enough to remove his own jacket, wrap it around the child, and pick him back up again. Once the child was secure, Yuuri ducked off the bus and began heading down the street towards his apartment as quickly as he could, making sure that the child’s head was tucked against his chest to prevent his cheeks from getting chapped from the wind further. 

Thankfully, the walk only took a few moments and soon, Yuuri was juggling both the child and the key while he shouldered his way into the apartment, set the kid down on his secondhand couch, and then sighed, sinking to the floor. 

One deep breath. 

Maybe two. 

And then, it hit him. 

_ Holy shit _ . 

Did he just kidnap a child? What had he been thinking? Well, the answer was pretty obvious. He  _ hadn’t _ been thinking. And that would explain why he  _ picked up a toddler from the public bus and took him home _ . He wasn’t even sure what his next step was supposed to be. Wasn’t even sure that the kid was old enough to even speak properly. At what age did kids start speaking? What if the kid’s mother had actually been on the bus? What if Yuuri was now involved in an international kidnapping case? What if the kid was a figment of his imagination and now, he really had lost it? What if everyone on the bus had been too polite to inform Yuuri that this strange, blonde child wasn’t real? What if--

“Woah, whose kid is that?” A voice suddenly interrupted Yuuri’s panic spiral. He flinched at the sudden sound and turned his eyes towards Phichit, who was surfacing from his own bedroom. “Yuuri are you okay?” 

Oh. Yuuri was hyperventilating. Well. 

“Phichit I stole this kid from the public bus!” Yuuri cried, eyes filling with tears. “Help me!” 

Phichit’s eyes grew wide and he blinked rapidly in shock. “Y-You what?” He glanced towards the couch where the small blonde child was rolling around on the couch and staring at his own toes. Oblivious. 

Yuuri buried his face in his hands. “I’m a no good kidnapper.” 

Suddenly, Yuuri felt a tapping on the top of his head. “Bye-bye boo boo!” He looked up from his hands to see the child standing before him, cheeks chapped and brows furrowed in determination. Comforting  _ Yuuri _ when he was the one who had been abandoned on the bus and then kidnapped by some stranger. 

The act of kindness made Yuuri’s eyes water all over again and he gathered the child close to him, tucking the blonde head under his chin. “I’m so sorry I kidnapped you!” 

Phichit sighed and moved closer, sitting cross-legged beside Yuuri on the floor. “Okay, why don’t you back up and tell me the whole story.” 

Yuuri tearfully nodded, ignoring the way that the child had moved on to sticking the strings of Yuuri’s hoodie in his mouth. “I was having a breakdown on the public bus and all of a sudden this baby is sitting next to me, and when I tried to find his parents, no one on the bus seemed to know where he had come from. I didn’t know what to do, so I just brought him here.” 

Phichit nodded sagely. “As one does.” He turned his gaze to the kid. “Look, Yuuri, we need to call the police department. His parents might be looking for him. Maybe they just...I don’t know...forgot him on the bus?”    
  


They both winced at the thought. 

Eventually, Yuuri nodded, accepting that that was the best plan. “Alright. First, we should probably get him out of these wet clothes and we need to put something on his face for his cheeks. What do you even put on a baby’s skin for chapping? Lotion? Neosporin? Oh, God, Phich, there is an entire, human child in our apartment--”

Phichit patted Yuuri on the back and motioned to his cellphone. “Dude, just chill out. Everything is going to be fine. We just have to survive for however long it takes for the police to figure everything out. We’ll just google whatever we need to know.” 

Yuuri let out a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” He turned his attention to where the kid was making a valiant effort to swallow the string of Yuuri’s sweater. Yuuri tugged it free from his mouth and made to stand up, tugging on the kid’s hand to get him to follow. “I’ll find him a t-shirt or something if you’ll google what we should put on his face.” 

“Aye-aye, Captain!” Phichit cheered, turning his attention to his phone while Yuuri made his way to his room. 

Thankfully, the kid seemed to be relatively calm, though Yuuri still wasn’t sure if he knew how to really speak, yet. Yuuri tugged him to his small dresser and started shuffling around until he found a worn-soft t-shirt from freshman year when Yuuri had been a good three sizes smaller. He inspected it with narrowed eyes before deeming it good enough for the kid to wear temporarily. Maybe they could even wash the clothes he already had on. Could you use regular detergent for kid’s clothes? The cheap stuff that he and Phichit regularly used couldn’t be good for children. Yuuri wasn’t even sure it was good for adults. 

He took a deep breath. Okay. He needed to keep it together. It wasn’t like he was the kid’s parent. He was just a caretaker until he got instructions from the police. Okay. He could do this. 

He moved to tug the kid’s shirt over his head, making note of how the kid started to shiver once his bare skin was exposed to the relatively cool air of the apartment. Yuuri would make sure to get him under a blanket, soon. His blond hair was hanging limply around his tiny face and it looked like it was desperately in need of a trim. Maybe Phichit would have a rubberband or something lying around that they could use to tie it away from the kid’s face. It couldn’t be easy to see with it the way it was. 

Yuuri moved to tug the kid’s pants down, as well, but blinked when his hand brushed something that felt like paper against the kid’s back as soon as his hands brushed the waistband. Confused, he turned the kid around so that his back was exposed. There, tucked into the back of his waistband, was a bundle of papers, folded flat against his back. Yuuri tugged it free, set it aside, and got the kid into the t-shirt as quickly as he could. That done, Yuuri turned back to the papers, ignoring the way the kid started tugging on his arm and jumping around, happy to be in dry clothes. 

**_Birth Certificate_ **

_ This certifies that  _

YURI PLISETSKY

_ Was born to _

ANFISA PLISETSKAYA    _ and                   ___________________ _

_on_ MARCH 1 2009 _at_ __4:13 AM

_weight_ 6.8  LB               _length_ __20 IN

_ at _ DETROIT RECEIVING HOSPITAL

_in_          DETROIT, MICHIGAN

_Signed ______________ __________________

  
  


Yuuri blinked in confusion at the paper in his hands. He flipped to the next document only to see an immunization chart. Behind that was a copy of his social security card and an infant passport. But why would this kid, Yuri, have his birth certificate and immunization record tucked into his pants? Had his mother intended to leave him on that bus? Yuuri could feel his blood beginning to boil and he could hardly hear anything besides the ringing in his ears. He glanced down at the kid, Yuri, he reminded himself, and took in his wind-bitten cheeks and limp hair. Remembered that he hadn’t had a jacket on. Remembered that his clothes had been soaking wet. It said on his birth certificate that he was only three years old and it didn’t appear that he had a father. How could someone just leave their child behind like that? Anything could have happened to him! 

Yuuri turned the forms forwards and backwards, as if flipping them enough would give him the answers. However, just as Yuuri was about to slam the documents down, he noticed another, smaller piece of paper folded inside of the passport. He shakingly tugged it free and unfolded it. It was a request form to add a parent to a birth certificate. Already filled out with the mother’s information consenting to the request. Yuuri’s hands began to shake even more than before. Anyone could have found Yuri. Anyone could have just filled out the second half of this form and be registered as Yuri’s birth parent. Why would his mother do this? Did she really not care what happened to her child? Yuuri’s own parents would have died first. 

A knock on his door frame interrupted his train of thoughts. He turned his attention to where Phichit was waving a tub of petroleum jelly. “The internet said that we could put this on his face.” Phichit’s eyes moved to the papers Yuuri had clenched in his shaking hands. “What are those?”   
  


Yuuri moved his eyes back to the kid, watching at Phichit moved closer and smoothed the petroleum jelly on his chapped cheeks. The kid obediently allowed Phichit closer only fussing slightly as the cool salve hit his warm face. Yuuri’s heart was actively breaking for him. 

“Uhm...It's his birth certificate. And shot records. And passport. And…” He swallowed and took a single, shuddering breath. “Well, and a request form to add a parent to a birth certificate.” 

Phichit’s brow furrowed and his eyes darted back to where Yuri was playing with his fingers, oblivious. “W-What? And you just found him like this on the bus?” 

Yuuri nodded, throat dry. “What should we do?” 

It was quiet for a moment while both of them allowed the news to sink in. Finally, Phichit spoke. “I still think we need to call the police station. I’m not sure what else there is to do…” 

Yuuri sighed and tugged his phone free from his back pocket. “Yeah, I guess you’re right…” He quickly searched up the number for the local police station and keyed it into his phone. He pressed the phone to his ear and nodded thankfully when Phichit started babbling to Yuri about nonsense in order to keep him occupied. He had remained relatively calm so far, but there was no telling when that would come to an end. 

“ _ Hello, you’ve reached the Detroit Police Department Eleventh Precinct, how may I assist you? _ ” Came an even voice from the other line. 

Yuuri centered himself and paused before speaking. “H-Hi, I’m calling because I believe that I have found a toddler on the bus. I can’t seem to find his mother and he has identifying information on him. What should I do with the kid if I can’t find his mother?” 

The voice on the other end paused before answering. “ _ If his mother can’t be found, you can bring him by the station and we will secure emergency foster housing for him while we attempt to locate her. If we fail to locate her, it is likely that the child will be submitted to the foster care system unless a relative can be reached who can offer care. _ ”

“A-Ah...I see…” Yuuri murmured. He turned his attention to where Phichit was tickling Yuri, the small child giggled and shrieking happily at the game. What would happen to him in the foster care system? Yuuri didn’t know much about how the system worked in the US, but what he did know wasn’t good. Would he grow up there? Would they be able to find a relative to take care of him? He didn’t have a father to speak of and his mother likely didn’t want to be found. What kind of life would Yuuri be handing him over to? 

At the prolonged silenced, Phichit turned to him and rose a single eyebrow, nudging Yuuri’s knee, hissing a quiet “What’s the hold up?” The action prompted Yuri to follow suit, pushing at Yuuri’s knee roughly and giggling “Hold up, hold up!”

“ _ Sir? Are you still there? _ ”

Yuuri Katsuki was a dime a dozen figure skater who was attempting to recover from the biggest career flop of the century. His dog was dead and he was thousands of miles away from his family. He hadn’t been home in five years and he had ruined every possible chance to meet his idol. He had lost nearly every sponsorship deal and therefore nearly every reliable source of income at his disposal following nationals, and he had been living off of ramen noodles and Phichit’s good will for nearly two weeks now. He suffered from an anxiety disorder that led to late night binges and made him question his every move. To put it simply, Yuuri Katsuki was an absolute train wreck of a human being who had no business managing a small child when he could hardly take care of himself. 

But still. 

The thought came back to him, intrusive and insistent.  _ What kind of life would I be dooming him to _ ?  _ If something happened to him, would I be responsible? _

And suddenly, the words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could properly reign them in and demand they stay put. 

“ _ Sir? Hello? _ ”

“I’m sorry but there’s been a mistake.” 


	2. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri attempts to get Yuri settled and we finally get our first glances of Victor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos for the last chapter! I had the day off of work today, so I went ahead and typed up the next chapter. 
> 
> I'm senshoo at tumblr, so feel free to come yell at me there

_ January 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

The silence in the room following the phone call was so thick that Yuuri could have cut it with a plastic spoon. Phichit stared at Yuuri and Yuuri stared and Yuri and Yuri was making a pretty solid effort to fit Phichit’s entire fist in his mouth. 

And then, everything sprang into action all at once. 

“What the fuck...what the fuck…what the  _ fuck _ ... _ Phichit, what the fuck _ !” Yuuri groaned, shoving his hands into his hair and tugging harshly, as if he could extract an explanation from his skull if he just pulled hard enough. 

Phichit was off the ground, pacing in front of Yuuri, typing furiously on his phone. “Don’t look at me Yuuri! I don’t even know if what you just did was  _ legal _ …” A pause as he scanned his phone. “Okay so it’s not  _ completely  _ illegal, just  _ really fucked up, okay _ ?” Phichit sighed and collapsed on the ground in front of Yuuri, again. “This isn’t like that puppy that you didn’t want to take to the shelter, Yuuri! This is an entire human being that you semi-kidnapped!” He gestured wildly to where Yuri was staring wide-eyed between the two of them. 

“I thought you said that I wasn’t a kidnapper!”

“Yeah, but that was before you, you know, kidnapped him!” 

“It's not a kidnapping! His mother obviously just left him on the bus!”

Phichit gestured around Yuuri’s tiny bedroom. “Where are we going to fit a three year old in here?” 

“He’ll be four in March!” Yuuri paused and turned his attention to where Yuri was quietly watching them. The kid must be scared enough, as it is. Yuuri needed to cool down before Yuri started crying. And if Yuri started crying, then Yuuri would _ definitely _ start crying, too. “Look, just...give me some time to figure things out. There is just a lot happening right now and I don’t know why I said what I did to the police officer, but Yuri’s here now and I just need to deal with it.” 

Phichit sighed and turned his attention back to Yuri, patting his blonde head and ignoring how the kid tried to escape his clutches, obviously annoyed at having his hair touched. “Well we need to get supplies, at least. He can’t just live in your t-shirts, Yuuri. And does he wear diapers? Do three year olds wear diapers? What do you feed a three year old? Can he speak yet?”

Yuuri shrugged helplessly. “I don’t really know. The triplets had just been born when I left Japan and I haven’t ever really spent a lot of time around kids...I took that developmental psychology class freshman year but I’m pretty sure I slept through most of it…”

It appeared that Yuri was getting tired of being ignored because he began to fuss, whining and tugging at Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri blinked down at him blankly, not entirely sure how to proceed. Was he hungry? Was he tired? Did he need to find the bathroom? He hadn’t had a diaper on when Yuuri had found him so he assumed that that meant that Yuri was potty trained in some capacity. 

“Hungry! Hungry!” Yuri suddenly shrieked, leaning forward so that his mouth was right next to Yuuri’s ear. As if he had intended to whisper and his voice had just not gotten there. Then, his tiny fists moved to Yuuri’s collar and started tugging harshly, as if he were trying to strangle Yuuri with all of the power contained within his three year old body. Which Yuuri accepted as a logical response. 

“Food? You want food?” Yuuri asked somewhat hysterically, jumping to his feet and urging the child towards the kitchen. “We might have applesauce….Phichit do we still have applesauce from when you had your wisdom teeth removed?” Yuuri called behind him. 

Phichit shouted an affirmative, and Yuuri set to work shuffling through the cabinets for the individual cups of applesauce that he hoped would hold Yuri over until he could secure some sort of reliable source of food. He was pretty sure that the amount of sodium in ramen noodle packets couldn’t be good for him. 

Yuuri carefully peeled the top off of the cup of applesauce and placed it on the table before helping Yuri into one of the chairs. However, Yuri was too short for his chin to really be visible. He grabbed the spoon from the tabletop and smacked it against the wood, expressing his displeasure. 

“Food! I want food!” Yuri shrieked, face turning red as he focused his stare on the cup of applesauce that was just out of reach. 

“Yeah, that’s...fair, honestly…” Yuuri conceded. He glanced around the room quickly for something to put under Yuri to raise him up a little bit. Acting quickly before Yuri’s tantrum could dissolve into something much more terrifying, Yuuri snatched a couch cushion and lifted Yuri up and the couch cushion under him in one swift movement. 

Yuri blinked in confusion at the quick movements but was quickly distracted by the applesauce that Yuuri pushed closer to him. Yuuri held his breath, waiting to see if Yuri would accept the offering, which he apparently did because he began shoveling applesauce into his mouth at an alarming speed. 

Yuuri noticed that Yuri’s long blonde hair was falling into the applesauce cup every time the kid leaning forward to shove the spoon in his mouth and so he started rifling through their numerous junk drawers for a rubberband. It would tug uncomfortably at Yuri’s hair when they eventually needed to remove it, but it would do for now. Rubberband secured, Yuuri moved behind Yuri to gather his hair away from his face. 

As soon as Yuri’s entire face, chapped cheeks and all, were exposed to the apartment, Yuri utterly lost his mind. He threw his spoon down on the table, sending applesauce flying everywhere, and started shrieking in displeasure. His face turned an alarming shade of red and his eyes watered, tears dribbling down his face and mouth wide to accommodate the sheer volume of his screaming. 

“No!  _ No _ !” He screamed. “Don’t wanna, don’t wanna!” He started kicking his legs and throwing his tiny fists back against Yuuri’s arms. 

Not knowing what to do, Yuuri quickly tied the rubberband off so that Yuri’s hair was in a sloppy ponytail and backed away, hands raised so that Yuri could see them. “It’s okay! See? I’m all done!” Thankfully, Yuri stopped screaming once Yuuri backed away.

Yuuri waited in tense silence to see if Yuri would start throwing a tantrum, again, and sighed in relief when the kid’s face went back to its normal pale shade and his eyes stopped watering. It was almost like Yuri didn’t even notice the tears rolling down his face. 

Suddenly, Yuri looked up at Yuuri with a wide grin on his face. “I can eat this all this in three mississipis!” 

Yuuri was glad that Yuri was feeling comfortable enough to start speaking freely, and he was doubly happy that Yuri could speak, at all, but he wasn’t sure that unhinging his jaw and upending an applesauce cup into his mouth was the best idea. “Yeah...let’s...not do that.” 

“Yes!” Yuri called in protest and began shoveling applesauce in his mouth even faster than he had before. 

Yuuri quickly leapt across the table, snatching the spoon out of his mouth. “Yuri, no! You’re going to choke!” 

  
  
  


_ December 2012, Sochi, Russia _

It seemed like a silly thing to admit, but Victor hadn’t quite felt like a real-life human being in quite some time. He could clearly remember points in his life in which he had been a human being, but trying to recall them under the bright spotlights of his current in-humanity brought a pounding to the back of his skull. It was almost as if Victor had not lived before the age of sixteen. As if he had been born that year, 2001 in Bulgaria for the Junior World Championships. As if he had been called into existence the first time he had heard the phrase:  _ Representing Russia, Victor Nikiforov.  _ It seemed like a silly thing to admit, and so Victor didn’t.

Yakov’s words are sharp enough to stab right through the bubble that had blown up around Victor, protecting and suffocating both. “Vitya!” The man’s voice was more of a growl than anything else, but it brought Victor’s attention to him. “The spokesperson from Adidas is going to be here tonight. You need to make a good impression to secure the sponsorship.” 

Victor nodded along to what Yakov was saying, sighing heavily in exhaustion before fixing a plastic smile onto his face. He was used to jumping through the hoops that were necessary at these events, but that didn’t mean that it got any less exhausting every time. Thankfully, he could spot Christophe against one of the walls with his own manager. Maybe they could cut out a little early together and get some drinks elsewhere. It was never a good idea to get too smashed at an ISU banquet no matter how free flowing the alcohol was. 

Reluctantly, Victor made his way around the room, targeting his sponsors in particular as well as the few spokespeople he hadn’t managed to convince over to his side, yet. It wasn’t that Victor wasn’t grateful for everything that these people did for him: providing his skating equipment, furnishing his apartment, ensuring that he and Makkachin could live their comfortable, cushy lifestyles. It was just that he hadn’t particularly felt much of anything in a while. And it wasn’t limited to just skating. He was dried up. Run out. He’d even been bouncing around the idea of retiring lately. 

Yakov suspected that he had simply used up all of the surprise left in him and that now that skating held no wonder for him, it was time to just settle down into his role as a world class figure skater and accept that for most skaters, wonder wasn’t necessarily a factor. But that wasn’t quite it, either. It was true that he enjoyed being able to surprise his audience, but not being able to wasn’t why he felt so empty. He was tired. Exhausted. The people around him had taken and taken and taken and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could go on giving until he simply would have nothing left. And then who was he? Who was he outside of skating? How could he even be sure that he even was anything outside of skating? If everyone who he knew only knew him in terms of medal counts and physical ability. 

Victor’s world had been looking increasingly gray as of late, and it was suffocating. Nauseating. 

A commotion from the corner of his eye forced his attention away from the Adidas spokesperson. Victor blinked and turned his gaze to a long table near the back of the banquet room full of champagne chilling in ice buckets and empty flutes. Worryingly, the next thing Victor spotted was the slight form of a slumped man with messy black hair. His blazer was much too big for him, shoulders overly large. Victor tutted quietly to himself and then turned his attention back to where the spokesperson was still droning on about commercials or some such business. To be quite honest, Victor hadn’t really been listening. 

However, Victor couldn’t help but to keep glancing over to the sad looking man in the corner. Had his coach not come with him? Yakov would never leave him to his own devices for so long if that meant that he would drink himself into a stupor at an ISU event. Who even was this man? 

He turned his attention back to the spokesperson and politely made his excuses, curiosity demanding that he find Chris and ask after the strange man. Chris knew everyone. 

Victor sidled up to his friend, smiling carefully over the rim of his champagne glass. “Chris, darling, do you have any idea who that man over there is?” Victor gestured over Chris’s shoulder towards where the man was beginning to stagger about, champagne bottle in his fist. If Victor were being honest with himself, it was refreshing to see someone acting the way that Victor often felt. Like he and that man shared something in common. 

Chris glanced quickly over his shoulder to take in the sight before turning back to Victor with an easy grin. “Ah, that would be Katsuki Yuuri. Sixth place. He has nice spins.” 

Victor’s eyebrows furrowed and he turned his gaze to the champagne in his glass, rattling his brain to connect a name with a face. He was simply terrible with names. “Ah, I see.” 

Chris tutted. “It must have been quite a crushing defeat for him. He had been positioned to podium, but he completely crashed and burned after the short.” 

Ah!  _ That  _ Katsuki Yuuri. Victor had watched his short program and had been quite impressed. He could recognize quite a few of his own techniques in Katsuki’s skating and had figured that the other man must have been a fan. Victor had hardly recognized him in the slouchy, department store suit and glasses. It really had been a shame that his free skate had flopped so badly. 

“I wonder what could have gone wrong…” Victor murmured mostly to himself, eyes trained on where the man was leaning heavily against the table, loosening his tie. 

Chris nodded. “Not sure. Bad day, maybe? I would ask him to dance, to cheer him up, but I’m not sure that would go appreciated.”

Victor agreed. If he were younger and more bold, he might go over and challenge the other skater to something ridiculous like a dance off. Something so ridiculous that the other man would have no choice but to cheer up. But Victor was nearly thirty and while he was bold in many ways, an ISU banquet was not the place to display such absence of thought. 

“It’s a pity…” 

Chris hummed by his side. “Yes, it is.” 

  
  


_ January 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

It had been a few days since Yuuri had found Yuri on the bus and things...were not going great. To be fair, they weren’t going horribly, either. They were just... _ going _ . He and Phichit had managed to scrape enough money together to go to a local secondhand store and pick up a few tshirts and pants that would fit Yuri and looked practically brand new. Thankfully, Yuri had had a decent pair of sneakers on when Yuuri had found him so they wouldn’t need to find shoes anywhere. They hadn’t had much luck finding a decent winter coat for him, so Yuuri decided that they would head to a department store to attempt to find one that would last him in the unforgiving chill of Detroit winter. With any luck, winter jackets might be on sale with spring coming soon.

Yuuri decided that he would check Walmart first for something cheap before looking somewhere more expensive if he struck out. With Yuri’s hand held tightly in his own, Yuuri ushered him down the street towards the bus stop, grateful that while it was slightly chilly, it was neither raining nor snowing so Yuri would be able to get by with a sweater and mittens. 

However, the closer they got to the bus stop, the more uncomfortable Yuri seemed to get, dragging his feet as the stop drew closer before altogether stopping before they could really reach the stop, entirely. Yuuri tugged slightly impatiently on his hand, urging him forward before the bus could drive by without them. 

“No! Don’t wanna!” Yuri shrieked. He tugged backwards on Yuuri’s hand, leaning away with all of his body weight. His face was quickly turning red and Yuuri knew that tears would soon follow if he didn’t get a handle on it soon.

It occurred to him that Yuri might be frightened of the bus since the last time he had been ushered onto a bus had ended so poorly. But Yuuri didn’t have a car and they couldn’t afford to spend money on an Uber when Yuuri had a perfectly good bus pass. 

Yuuri knelt down in front of him and playfully tugged on his ponytail with an easy smile so that Yuri wouldn’t be afraid. “Yuri, are you scared of the bus? I’ll hold your hand the entire time and I won’t let you go no matter what.” When Yuri still seemed a little reluctant, Yuuri rattled his brain and mentally added the figures of his slim savings account. It would be better to deal with Yuri’s fear head on rather than letting it fully develop into a full blown phobia. “If you’re really brave and get on the bus with me, you might even be able to pick out a present while we’re at the store…?” Yuuri offered hesitantly. 

Yuri seemed to consider Yuuri’s proposition before finally nodding reluctantly. “Okay...You have to hold me hand the  _ whole  _ time though. Pinky swear!” 

Yuuri nodded with the utmost seriousness, crossing his heart with one hand and gently curling his pinky around Yuri’s. “I wouldn’t dare break a pinky promise.” Yuuri announced solemnly. “I take them very seriously.” 

Seemingly convinced, Yuri nodded and reached to take Yuuri’s hand in his mittened one. Yuuri smiled gently to encourage him and nudged him along towards the bus stop. Luckily, the bus was on time and so they didn’t have to wait for long. Yuuri pulled Yuri up the tall steps, letting the child take his time climbing the stairs on his own, and then settled them into the first bench they saw, close to the door. 

Yuuri grinned at Yuri once they were sitting down. “See? Not so bad, is it? You’re very brave, you know.” Yuuri wished they could have just taken an Uber, but he was glad that Yuri seemed to be doing okay. 

Yuri smiled shyly to himself and settled closer to Yuuri, clutching his hand tightly and glancing out the window at the buildings passing by. 

Thankfully, the bus ride went by otherwise without hitch and before long, Yuuri had buckled Yuri into a shopping cart so that he wouldn’t run off and they were quickly making their way up and down aisles, scanning the different clothing racks for a coat. 

“Okay, Yuri, we’re looking for a winter coat. Do you think you could help me find one?” Yuuri asked quietly, eyes still scanning the rows of clothing. 

Yuri nodded seriously, eyes turning to look around, as well. A few minutes later, Yuuri spotted a rack of mixed coats off to the side. Thankfully, it appeared that quite a few of them were on sale and so they would just have to find one that fit Yuri and didn’t look too terrible. Yuuri shuffled through the coats and unearthed a few of them, holding them up so that Yuri could see them. 

“Okay, Yuri, which one do you like the most?” Yuuri asked, holding up a black coat and a purple one with a faux fur trim on the hood. It was technically a girl’s coat but he figured it didn’t really matter much as long as Yuri liked it. 

Yuri furrowed his brows in concentration, obviously taking the decision quite seriously. Finally, he pointed to the purple coat. “That one! It’s pretty!” 

Yuuri nodded in agreement. “Good choice, buddy. Let’s see if it fits.” 

He carefully unbuckled Yuri from the cart and set him down on the ground, shuffling his arms into the coat and zipping it up all the way. It was a little big on him, but Yuuri figured that that would probably be for the best so that it would last longer. Once the coat was secure, Yuuri took his hand and turned Yuri towards the floor length mirror in the corner of the aisle. 

“What do you think? Do you like it?” 

Yuri analyzed his appearance, holding his arms out to the side and spin in a single, tight circle, eyes trained on his reflection for as long as he could between the rotation. Yuuri tried his best not to chuckle at how seriously Yuri was scrutinizing his appearance, not wanting to shake the child’s confidence. 

“Well?” Yuuri eventually prompted with a smile. 

Yuri nodded, grinning widely. “This one! I like this one!” 

“Are you sure you don’t want to try on any others?”

Yuri shook his head. “No! This one!” 

Yuuri nodded in agreement and helped Yuri out of the coat, placing it in the cart and moving to pick Yuri up and buckle him back in. “Okay, buddy, let’s go look for your present since you were so brave earlier.” 

“Yay! Presents!” Yuri hollered, banging his fists on the handle of the shopping cart. Yuuri probably should have tried to get him to quiet down, but he was hesitant to begrudge him his happiness. 

“Yeah! Let’s get going!” Yuuri chuckled and moved them to the toy aisle. 

It took all of two minutes for Yuri to set his sights on a stuffed tiger in the pile of discount toys that Yuuri had parked the cart in front of. Yuri was drawn to it instantly, making grabby hands until Yuuri unearthed it and handed it over. Thankfully it was only a few dollars and the coat had been relatively cheap, and so it wasn’t breaking the bank to allow Yuri to have it. Still, Yuuri couldn’t help but to duck his head guiltily. 

“One of these days, I’ll save up enough money to get you something better, buddy.” 

Yuri shook his head and clutched the tiger tightly to himself in a stranglehold, green eyes wide. “No! I want this one!” He yelled. 

Yuuri chuckled, not bothering to explain what he had meant. “Okay, okay! You can have that one, Yuri.” He glanced down at the watch on his wrist and saw that soon, the bus would arrive and they would be able to get home without waiting at the stop for too long. “Are you ready to get out of here, Yuri?”

Yuri nodded, pointing towards the front door and yelling at the top of his lungs: “Home! Home! Home!” 

Yuuri winced at his volume but felt his heart warm, all the same. 

  
  


_ December 2012, Sochi, Russia _

Victor sighed to himself and glanced with pity towards the Japanese one final time. “Is his coach no where around, Chris?” 

Chris looked around the room and couldn’t seem to locate anyone who fit the bill. “I don’t think so. Celestino is his coach, but I don’t see him around anywhere.” 

If someone didn’t get Yuuri out of the banquet hall soon, he was going to hurt himself. Victor had watched him steadily consume a massive amount of alcohol as the night progressed. With his coach nowhere to be seen, Victor figured it would be up to him to ensure that Katsuki didn’t hurt himself or others. At least it would give him an excuse to leave the banquet early. Might even paint him out to be some benevolent hero. That would look good to Adidas.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to Chris and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to try and get him back to his room. He really shouldn’t be down here if he’s this intoxicated.” 

Chris shrugged. “Alright then. Text me before you leave tomorrow. Maybe we could grab some brunch?” 

Victor nodded. “Yeah, that should work for me. I’ll text you. Night!” 

And with that, he began to pick his way through the crowd, politely nodding towards the few people who called his name in greeting. It took longer than he anticipated, but eventually, he was standing before Yuuri Katsuki. 

“Katsuki?” Victor asked hesitantly, placing a light hand on Katsuki’s shoulder. “Katsuki?” 

Katsuki turned to Victor suddenly, brows furrowed and cheeks flushed bright red. His tie was hanging loosely from around his neck. The back of his neck was damp with sweat and his eyes were glazed over in that way that only drunk people could accomplish. “Oh my god...It’s you…” Katsuki breathed, voice giggly and bright. “It’s really you…”

Victor furrowed his brows with a confused smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Ah, yes. It would appear that I am, in fact, me.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that they hadn’t called too much attention to themselves. “Would you like some assistance getting back to your room?” 

“It’s really you…” Katsuki murmured rather than answer Victor. 

Victor took that as a yes and moved to clasp Katsuki’s elbow in a firm grasp, gently leading him towards the doors. Thankfully, he went without protest, seemingly content to follow after Victor without question. Once they arrived at the elevator, Victor turned to Katsuki inquisitively. 

“What is your room number?” 

Katsuki flushed an even deeper red underneath his drunken flush. “3-314…” He murmured delicately, glancing down where Victor still had his elbow prisoner. 

Victor nodded and urged Yuuri into the elevator, pressing the correct button and waiting for the doors to close. Victor, himself, had been upgraded to a suite due to a few strings that had been pulled by a longtime sponsor of his. It seemed that Katsuki had decided to remain within the ISU reserved block for skaters. 

Victor was grateful when the elevator doors opened, once more, the silence within the contained space thick and awkward. He didn’t particularly know Katsuki and Katsuki seemed too out of it to make polite conversation and so it had remained uncomfortably silent. Victor was about to lead Katsuki out by the elbow when Katsuki suddenly shook off his hand and reached down to scoop it up with his own. 

Yuuri Katsuki had small hands. Short fingers. Wide palm. But they were warm. And smooth. Not even clammy in the slightest. Victor flushed suddenly at Katsuki’s bold move and followed the other man helplessly as Katsuki led him down the hallway towards his room. It didn’t appear that he had any trouble recalling which room it was which Victor was grateful for. His own mind had been full of static since Katsuki had grabbed his hand. 

Finally, they stopped before room 314 and Katsuki turned to look at him. “This is me... “ he gestured to the door behind him. 

Victor glanced at the metal numbers on the door, confirming that it was, in fact, the correct number. “Ah, it would appear so.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, fighting down the flush that he was sure was still present on his pale skin. “Well...goodnight, Katsuki.” 

Victor forced his eyes away from Katsuki’s flushed face and soft hands and warm eyes. Made himself turn back towards the elevator and begin to head back to the elevator. Maybe he would see Katsuki again, sometime. At Worlds. Or maybe at the next GPF. Just thinking about the competitions, Victor could feel the tunnel vision narrowing around him. His future looking oppressive and gray. It had been gray for a long, long time, after all. 

“Hey!” Katsuki suddenly called out, voice still drunkenly wobbly, but only just. “I’m going to skate on the same ice as you again someday.” A pause. “And I’m going to win.” 

Victor’s eyes went wide at the statement and he turned to face Katsuki, once more where he stood leaning against his partially open hotel room door. His face was flushed with a curious mixture of drunkenness and confidence. 

Katsuki popped his hip out and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, pushing his door open and moving to enter his room. Almost as an afterthought, he poked his head back out into the hallway and called out with a wide grin on his face. “Oh, and call me Yuuri!” With that, the door shut firmly behind him. 

Oh. 

That was different. Wonderful? Yes it was wonderful. Or was Yuuri wonderful? Victor wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was that heat was creeping its way up the back of his neck and his heart was thrumming in his chest and that he was frozen where he stood. The hand that Yuuri had held twitched by his side. Victor had never had someone so boldly declare themselves his rival. Victor had never quite encountered anyone like Yuuri Katsuki. Suddenly, things didn’t seem so gray, anymore. Suddenly, there were a lot of fresh new thoughts swirling around in his head that made excitement beat away in his chest and adrenaline fill his veins. 

In a single moment, Yuuri Katsuki had unsuspectingly ducked into Victor’s life and filled it with  _ color _ .

  
  


_ January 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

That night, Yuuri settled Yuri in his own bed and took up his post on their creaky couch as he had done for the past few nights. To his relief, it seemed that Yuri was becoming more comfortable about Yuuri which had led the child to play around more and speak out. It was good that Yuri wasn’t so quiet, anymore. That he didn’t seem scared. 

But still, Yuuri was sure that he was in over his head. What was he even doing? He wasn’t cut out to be a father. Was that what he was trying to do? Step in and be a parent? There was a lot of stuff that he still needed to figure out. He needed to find someone to watch Yuri when he was in class. He needed to look into schooling. He needed to get Yuri something to play with besides a three dollar tiger. 

He couldn’t be anyone’s father. 

How was he even going to afford Yuri’s care? And that’s assuming that he doesn’t call the police station, again, and report Yuri’s status. Should he? What would be the right thing to do?

Thankfully, Phichit had seemed to be supportive of whatever Yuuri wanted to do, not pushing him in one direction or the other. But still, either way, he needed to figure out what he was going to do sooner rather than later. 

A noise coming from his bedroom drew his attention to the closed door. Slowly, and apparently with great effort, the door slid open and a tiny blonde figure darted out of the room and towards the couch, tiger plush in hand. 

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Yuuri whispered quietly. 

Yuri approached the coach quietly, only answering when he was standing right in front of Yuuri. Yuuri sat up so that he could see Yuri more clearly.

“I’m going to protect you from monsters.” Yuri announced, shoving his way onto the couch beside Yuuri. 

Yuuri grinned teasingly. “Are you sure you’re not trying to get  _ me _ to protect  _ you _ from monsters?” 

Yuri huffed and tucked his face into Yuuri’s pillow so that he wouldn’t have to meet Yuuri’s eyes. “Course not. That’s silly.” 

Yuuri shrugged and settled down behind Yuri, tugging him closer so that he wouldn’t fall off the couch. “If you say so…”

It was quiet for some time before Yuuri dared to speak again, deciding to simply voice his concerns to Yuri rather than agonize over them, himself. “Hey, Yuri? Are you happy here? With me and Phichit?” 

Yuri was quiet for long enough that Yuuri assumed that he had fallen asleep. He let out the breath that he was holding in a single exhale, rustling Yuri’s blonde hair. Finally, though, Yuri whispered a quiet answer, muffled by the pillow. 

“Yes...I don’t want to go back to Mommy…” 

Yuuri cooed consolingly and patted Yuri’s head, careful not to disturb his hair enough to cause any upset. “No no, Yuri. No one is going to make you go back to your mommy.” 

Yuri nodded, satisfied, and turned his head even further into the pillow, shoulders relaxing as he seemingly began to truly nod off. Yuuri gently settled behind him, heart heavy as he settled an arm around the child. He had to do whatever he could to keep Yuri from ending up back with his mom...or somewhere worse. He needed to figure out what to do…

He carded his fingers through Yuri’s blonde hair gently. “Thanks for protecting me from the monsters, Yuri…” He murmured, tucking his head behind Yuri’s and staring out into the dark living room. 

If Yuri was going to be brave enough to protect Yuuri from the monsters, then Yuuri would just have to be brave enough to do the same thing for him. 


	3. Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri is given a chance to start over and Yuri transforms into a dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented so far or messaged me on tumblr! I really appreciate the feedback a lot and I've had a lot of fun chatting with you guys!
> 
> I'm Senshoo on tumblr if any of all want to message me there! 
> 
> ((Also, I've changed my username here to senshoo bc #consistency))

_ February 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

It took Victor longer than necessary to find a stream of that year’s Four Continents. But finally, after nearly two hours of searching, he was able to locate a link to some sketchy site entitled “Figure Skate Streams” after his sixth twitter search. The quality was grainy and it lagged more often than it didn’t, but at least it was functioning well enough that Victor would be able to see Yuuri in some capacity. 

Makkachin was whining at him for some attention, but Victor had his gaze focused on the screen, unblinking. He tried to convince himself that it was because he needed to eye his competition. That Yuuri had challenged him. But in the quiet part of Victor’s heart, he knew very well that that was not the case. Something about Yuuri made Victor want to  _ want _ something. Not quite enough capacity of feeling to  _ want _ but just enough that Victor could see himself getting there, someday. It was addicting after years of just nothingness. 

Victor waited eagerly as the skaters in the first group skate out onto the ice to warm up. 

Yuuri was not one of them. 

And he wasn’t part of the next group, or the next group, or the next. 

In fact, Yuuri Katsuki is not at Four Continents, at all. 

Victor is flooded with a sudden, overwhelming sense of betrayal. How could Yuuri throw down the gauntlet so suddenly at the Grand Prix Final and then not show up for one his next major competitions? Had Victor misunderstood something, again? But no. Yuuri had clearly issued a challenge. Victor had been living off of the thought of that challenge for weeks, now. It couldn’t have just been a drunken declaration, could it? 

Yuuri Katsuki had to be at Worlds. Somehow. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ March 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Yuuri was not at worlds. 

  
  
  
  


_ March 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

To say that things had been rough would be a gross understatement. It had been a few weeks, now, and Yuuri could feel himself beginning to crumble under the pressure of maintaining any sort of respectable lifestyle for Yuri. Between his ongoing classes and his lack of competitions, Yuuri’s funds were quickly beginning to dwindle down to nothing and soon, he wouldn’t be able to afford the many necessities that kept a four year old healthy. 

Phichit had tried to gently suggest that maybe Yuuri should consider calling the police station, again, but Yuuri had stubbornly refused. It was too late now, he rationalized, Yuri was beginning to think of their dingy apartment as home so Yuuri couldn’t just uproot him for the second time in less than six months. 

But still, watching Yuri play with secondhand toys and whatever movies Yuuri could cobble together hurt something deep inside of him. Yuri deserved something better than that. Yuuri wanted to buy him nice clothes and new toys and feed him organic fruits and vegetables and do everything  _ right _ . But it was so hard when there was hardly any money to be seen. 

Yuuri had to figure something out. Anything. 

He thumped his head on the sturdy wood of their dining room table and scrubbed his hands through his hair. He just had to  _ think _ .  _ Think, damn it _ . There was panic beginning to stew in the pit of his stomach but he ignored it in favor of running through their monthly expenses, once more. Thankfully, between Phichit and Yuuri, there were enough empty gaps in their schedules to always have someone home watching Yuri, so daycare wasn’t necessary. But still, there was food, and Yuri would need spring clothes, and Yuuri needed to get more children’s vitamins, and Yuri needed to be drinking more milk, and then there were Yuuri’s expenses. 

He briefly entertained the thought of calling home. Maybe he could move himself and Yuri back to Japan. He had Yuri’s passport, it wouldn’t be that difficult. That would certainly cut back on their expenses by a wide margin. Something about taking Yuri out of the country, however, made Yuuri feel uncomfortable. Like he was doing something that he wasn’t supposed to do. 

He had that form. He could just put his name down as Yuri’s father and mail it in. None the wiser. 

No, no, no. He was being too rash. He just needed to  _ think _ .

Thump. 

His head hit the table again. 

Suddenly, he felt tiny pats on the top of his head. Blinking, he looked up only to see narrowed green eyes and furrowed brows glaring at him. Yuri was just tall enough for his nose to peek above the table top, and his blonde hair had been dragged into a lopsided ponytail. 

“Boo-boo bye-bye!” Yuri yelled, patting Yuuri’s head four more times with much more pressure than a four year old should have had at his disposal. 

Yuuri carefully removed Yuri’s hand and patted it. “Gentle, Yu-chan. And inside voice.” 

Yuri’s eyes widened and he quickly covered his mouth with both hands, nodding seriously. “‘M sorry…” He mumbled out. 

Yuuri patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, Yu-chan. You’re still a good boy.” He glanced over Yuri’s shoulder. “Where’s Phi?”

Phichit poked his head around the corner with an apologetic grin. “Sorry, Yuuri, I’ve got to head off to practice in a few minutes. Are you good to watch the baby for a few hours?” 

“I’m not a baby!” Yuri shrieked puffing out his chest and stamping his tiny foot. 

Yuuri shot him a look of warning. “Yuri, inside voice.” 

Phichit ruffled Yuri’s hair as he passed, further dislodging his ponytail. “Sorry, kid, you’re a baby until you have all your adult teeth. I don’t make the rules.” 

Yuri’s jaw dropped. “But I haven’t even lost  _ one _ yet! That’s going to take  _ years _ !”

“Tragic, I know.” Phichit sighed dramatically, sweeping a hand dramatically across his forehead. “Anyway, later tater-tot.” And with that, he was gone. 

With Phichit gone, Yuri turned his complete attention back to Yuuri. “Let’s play dragons.” 

Yuuri patted Yuri’s head as he stood him, wincing as his back popped. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly four. If he wanted to have Yuri fed, bathed, and in bed by a respectable time, he should really start dinner. “Sorry, kid. I need to start getting some food together.” He nodded towards the television in the living room. “Do you want to watch a movie while you wait?” 

Yuri grumbled and crossed his arms firmly across his chest. He stared at the television for a few moments, seemingly mulling his choices over, before turning back to Yuuri. “I want to help!” Even though it came out as more of a demand than a request, Yuuri’s heart still warmed at the thought. He had very fond memories of helping his parents in the kitchen of the onsen growing up. He wanted those types of memories for Yuri. 

“Alright! You can be my sous chef!” 

Yuri followed him to the counter where Yuuri held him up in front of the sink so that he could wash his hands. “I don’t want to be a soup chef! I want mac and cheese!” 

Yuuri’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment before a let out a loud chuckle. “Oh, Yuri, a sous chef just means...let’s see...a partner chef. I’m the chief and you’re the next in charge!”

Yuri glanced up at Yuuri with wide green eyes. “I’m in charge?” 

“Well, uhm, I suppose in a way…” 

“Awesome!” Yuri giggled. “I’m going to make the best dinner  _ ever _ !”

Yuuri hoped that he still felt that way when they were finished cooking. He had two chicken cutlets left in the frozen bag that he had snagged on sale at the supermarket the other day and was planning on pairing it with steamed broccoli. It wasn’t much, but it was plenty healthy and could keep Yuri full until morning. He moved to the fridge to pull out the chicken that he had been letting defrost and then yanked open the stubborn freezer door to root out the frozen broccoli, ignoring Yuri’s demands to know what they were eating for dinner. 

Yuuri tugged the opened bag of broccoli free and sighed when he glanced in and saw that there wasn’t very much left. He would just go without. Yuri needed it more than him, he was thin enough as it was. 

Mind made up, he scooped Yuri up and dragged a kitchen chair over, standing him up on the chair next to the stove so that he was nearly the same height as Yuuri. 

Yuuri reached out and snatched Yuri’s hand out of thin air before he could make a grab for the stove. “Okay, Yu-chan, let’s go over the rules of being a sous chef.” 

Yuri whined and tugged at his hand until Yuuri let it go. “Rules are for babies!”   
  
“No, rules are for everyone, Yu-chan.” Yuri tried to look away from Yuuri stubbornly and so Yuuri grabbed his shoulders and turned him so that they were eye to eye. “Now, listen. This is very important. You are not allowed to touch the stove no matter what, do you understand? It can be very hot and I don’t want you to burn yourself.” 

Yuri glanced at the stove out of the corner of his eye and nodded. “I promise.” 

Yuuri nodded in relief at Yuri’s easy acceptance. “And secondly, you are not allowed to touch any knives, at all, got it?” 

Yuri nodded and then wiggled impatiently. “Okay, okay.”

“Alright, now let’s start!” Yuuri grinned. He reached over to the flick the burner on and then tugged a pan loose from one of the cabinets, setting it on the burner with some oil. “Okay first, we’re going to season the chicken. Do you think you can help me with that?” 

Yuri nodded eagerly, turning to the chicken cutlets Yuuri had on the counter nearby. Yuuri pulled some salt and pepper free from their modest spice rack and thought about adding some other spices but then decided against it, not willing to risk Yuri refusing to eat the chicken if he didn’t like it. 

“Okay, Yu-chan, let me see your hand.” 

Yuri offered his hand, palm up, and Yuuri sprinkled some salt into his palm. Just enough to cover the chicken. 

“Alright, now just sprinkle a little bit of that salt all over the chicken.” Yuuri instructed, making sure to watch Yuri carefully so that he wouldn’t toss it all on one piece. When it looked like the chicken had been sufficiently covered, Yuuri flipped it over and instructed him to repeat the process before doing the same with the pepper. 

When Yuri was finished, he rubbed his hands clean on the large t-shirt that he was wearing and Yuuri sighed fondly and shook his head, chuckling. “Okay, now it’s time to put the chicken in the pan.” He made sure to tilt the pan away so that the oil wouldn’t crack out and land on Yuri, grinning when Yuri jumped at the loud popping noise it made. 

Next, Yuuri tugged his rice cooker close and filled it with some water, unearthing the steamer attachment from the cabinet next to the stove. He dumped the broccoli into the steamer and turned the rice cooker on, deciding that it would probably be best if the broccoli was extra soft so that Yuri wouldn’t complain. 

“I don’t want broccoli…” Yuri whined as he watched Yuuri start up the rice cooker. 

Yuuri’s shoulders wanted to slump sadly, but he didn’t dare let it show. Instead, he turned to Yuri with a bright grin. “Aw, but Yuri! Broccoli makes you big and strong. Strong enough to fight a dragon!” 

Yuri stomped his foot. “I don’t want to  _ fight _ a dragon, I want to  _ be _ a dragon!”

Yuuri nodded sagely and crossed his arms over his chest, feigning deep contemplation. “Ah, yes, then you’ll have to be even stronger. That means that you need even more broccoli.” 

“And if I eat all the broccoli, then I can be a dragon?” Yuri asked, voice gone squeaky in excitement. 

Yuuri nodded with a wide grin on his voice. “Yup! If you finish all the broccoli, then you can turn into a big, fire breathing dragon!” He carefully flipped the chicken over with his spatula and then turned to lift Yuri from the chair, setting him down on the ground. “Now, why don’t you go and wash your hands before we eat?”

Yuri nodded and tore down the hallway at a breakneck speed for the bathroom, slamming open the door. Yuuri winced at the loud noise before turning his attention back to their dinner with a quiet sigh, shoulders dropping just a bit. It wasn’t much of a dinner, but he hoped that Yuri would eat everything on his plate without complaint. 

When the chicken was finished, Yuuri carefully cut both pieces down the middle to make sure they weren’t pink inside before pulling out some plates and piling Yuri’s with broccoli and chicken before dropping his sad piece of chicken on his own. Maybe he could sneak a packet of ramen noodles later that night when Yuri was asleep. 

When Yuuri carried the plates over to the table, Yuri was already sitting at the table, eagerly eyeing the plates Yuuri carried over. When Yuuri set the plate down in front of Yuri, the child simply stared down at it without moving. Yuuri prayed that Yuri wasn’t about to throw a tantrum over how boring it looked. 

“We made this together!” Yuri announced, turning to look up at Yuuri with a wide grin on his face. “I helped and everything! I’m a real soup chef!”    
  


“A-Ah, well yeah! You helped a lot, Yu-chan!” And then quietly. “It’s sous chef, Yu-chan.”

And with that said, Yuri tore into his dinner with a ferocity that only a four year old could manage. Yuuri made sure to set a full glass of milk in front of him, urging him to take sips between bites so that he wouldn’t choke. Yuuri’s own plate remained untouched in front of him, but he was content to just watch Yuri eat, for now. 

Finally, when Yuri had taken his last bite, plate surprisingly void of broccoli, he shoved away from the table and starting jumping around and flapping his arms, smile wide. “I’m a dragon, now! I ate all the broccoli, so I get to be a dragon!” 

Yuuri grinned in response, finally turning his attention to his own, now cold, chicken. “Yes, yes, a big, scary dragon!”

“And I can breathe fire, too!” Yuri assured, bouncing over to where Yuuri was sitting. 

Yuuri nodded. “I can tell by the smoke coming out of your ears.” 

Yuri gasped and covered his ears. “Nah uh! You’re lying!” 

Yuuri molded his face into a mask of seriousness. “No, really, Yu-chan, I saw the smoke!” 

It was quiet for a beat or two before the two of them burst into giggles. Yuuri made quick work of his dinner before standing and bringing the empty plates over the sink. When the dishes were done, Yuuri strong-armed Yuri into a bath and carefully braided his slightly damp hair the way that he had learned from a Youtube video so that Yuri’s hair would stay out of the way while he slept and come undone nicely in the morning. When Yuri was in fresh clothes with his teeth brushed, Yuuri convinced the child to go to sleep with his laptop propped up on the end of the bed with a Disney movie playing. 

Yuuri felt like he could drop any second but he managed to drag his body to the door and was just about to turn the lights off when Yuri’s small voice called out to him over the sounds of  _ The Lion King _ playing in the background. “Don’t leave…” 

Yuuri hesitated for just a moment before nodding, closing the bedroom door and moving back to the bed, getting under the blankets when Yuri suddenly tugged at them, urging them over Yuuri’s frame. 

When Yuri was satisfied, he turned his attention back to the movie, his stuffed tiger close at hand. Yuuri could tell that the child was beginning to nod off, eyes growing heavier by the second. Just before sleep could take him, Yuri turned towards Yuuri and buried his face in Yuuri’s chest sleepily, back turned to the laptop. 

“Night-night, Papa…” Yuri mumbled before his whole body went limp and he was asleep. 

Oh. 

_ Oh _ .

Yuri had never called him that before. 

Yuuri felt his heart simultaneously swell and break. He needed to be better. Things  _ needed _ to be better. Yuuri Katsuki was not a father, but if Yuri wanted him to be, then Yuuri Katsuki wanted to be a damn good one. 

Something had to change. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ March 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

Yuuri was in the middle of convincing Yuri to chew up the children’s vitamins that Yuuri pulled from the kitchen cabinet when Phichit sheepishly entered the kitchen. Yuuri could just tell from the way they he held himself that he was about to confess to something awful. 

“Go ahead and tell me what you did, Phichit.” Yuuri sighed, not turning his attention from where Yuri was still adamantly refusing to take his vitamins. It was too early for this. Why did Yuri have to wake up every morning at seven on the dot?   
  


Phichit chewed his lip nervously and bounced from foot to foot. “Okay, but promise you won’t get mad?” 

Yuuri groaned. “Phichit, what did you  _ do _ ?”

Phichit pulled his cellphone out from behind his back. “Alright, so I may or may not have posted a pic on insta of you and the baby asleep on the couch because, c’mon, you guys are so cute, who could blame me?” 

Yuuri’s brows furrowed in confusion. “I mean, you probably should have checked with me first but that isn’t a major level offense…?”

“But that’s not all. You know Gymboree? The children’s clothing brand?” 

Yuuri nodded, still confused. 

“Well...They may or may not have reached out to Ciao Ciao, obviously they must think you’re still training under him, and they may or may not want to sponsor you?”

“W-What…?” Yuuri gasped. “Phichit what did you  _ do _ ?” 

“Bad Phichit, bad Phichit!” Yuri cackled from where he stood, quickly making a run for it while Yuuri was distracted from making him take his vitamins. 

Phichit shrugged helplessly. “Ciao Ciao had more information. You should call him.”

Yuuri winced internally. He had been putting off calling Celestino for weeks, now, too embarrassed by their sudden split to work up the nerve to reach out to him. But if this were true, then that would mean that a sudden, semi-reliable source of income would be available to him. Yuuri thought back to his growing list of financial needs and sighed. He had to work up the nerve to call his former coach if not for himself, then certainly for Yuri. 

Celestino picked up the phone after four rings. 

“ _ Yuuri! It’s good to hear from you! _ ” His voice was boisterous as always and Yuuri could feel his shoulders growing tense just at the sound. 

“C-Celestino! Phichit told me that I should give you a call. Sorry that it's been so long…” 

“ _ Well, I was a bit surprised to find out that you’re a father, now, congratulations! _ ” Yuuri winced, but didn’t bother to correct him. “ _ Listen, Yuuri, this sponsorship is a pretty big deal. They’re offering to foot the bill for your skating expenses through to the Grand Prix Final. All they’re asking is that you take your kid along to a few of the competitions wearing their new winter line and mention their brand in interviews. _ ”

“But…?” Yuuri sighed, knowing that it was coming. 

“ _ But, _ ” Celestino continued. “ _ This means that you’re going to have to podium. It’s the only way that you’re going to keep them interested in you and possibly attract some new sponsors. They’re taking a pretty big risk in taking you on as an underdog but you’re going to have to show them som results. We could work the single dad angle big time and if you do well in the Final, then we would be talking about some serious sponsorship deals. There aren’t exactly a ton of skaters who would be able to snatch children’s companies from you. There would hardly be any competing over them. I’m willing to take you on as a student, again, if you’re interested _ ”

This was what Yuuri needed. Serious sponsorships would mean serious money which would mean better  _ everything _ for Yuri. Gymboree would already be taking care of many of Yuri’s clothing needs and with the money from the sponsorship, Yuuri would be able to buy Yuri better toys and better food and better books...But last time at the Final had been soul crushing. The absolute lowest point of Yuuri’s life. He wasn’t sure if he was willing to risk going through that, again. He wasn’t sure he could  _ survive _ going through that, again. 

But then there was Yuri. Yuri who had been left on a public bus in Detroit without even a winter coat to keep him warm. Yuri who had been served the absolute worst in life. Yuri who had turned to him, buried his tiny face in Yuuri’s chest, and called him _ Papa _ . Yuuri was not a father, but if Yuri needed him to be, then he wanted to be a good one. He really wanted to be a good one. 

“ _ Yuuri? Still there? _ ”

Yuuri let all of the air out of his lungs slowly, in one single breath. It hadn’t really ever been a decision to begin with. He would have to work hard. Harder than he had ever worked in his life. Harder than he had worked in preparation for last year’s Final because this time, he needed to  _ win _ . Needed to beat out even the likes of  _ Victor Nikiforov _ . Victor, who had been Yuuri’s lifetime goal. Yuuri had just wanted to skate on the same ice as him, but now, he needed to be a serious rival. 

But he would do it. Without question. Without hesitation. For Yuri. For his  _ kid _ .

“Yeah, Coach, I think I will. I’ll do it.”

  
“ _ That’s what I like to hear. We start tomorrow morning. _ ”


	4. News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news gets out that Yuuri has a child and Victor's suffering intensifies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know that I literally posted,,,,,,,yesterday,,,,,but the feedback was so positive that I got excited and went ahead and typed up the next chapter for yall today
> 
> Warnings: I dont know russian so like,,,,sorry for the slight russian used here. i used google translate, rip. Also, i wrote most of this while semi-drunk so,,,,,yeah
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, thank you again to everyone who has left feedback so far! It really makes writing so much easier and more enjoyable for me knowing that other people are enjoying it too!
> 
> Again, I'm senshoo on tumblr so feel free to contact me there, too

**phichit+chu**

[ image description: Yuuri and Yuri are asleep on a worn sofa with a purple blanket wrapped around them. Despite looking nothing alike, they both have matching expressions on their faces: jaws slack and drool track down the right side of their lips.]

1,560 likes

 **phichit+chu** Like father like son ;) #yuurikatsuki #toocute #theresemblanceisuncanny

 **cochTrain** Cute!

 **katsukatsu** Yuuri has a kid???????

 **phichit+chu** @katsukatsu uhm…….. >.<

 **katsuki_skateking** wow so this is why Yuuri retired

 **bahbing** @katsuki_skateking don’t be an idiot, katsuki retired because he’s washed up

  
  


_March 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Once Yuuri had agreed to the sponsorship, it seemed that things began to happen rather quickly. The very next day, he received a call from a representative of Gymboree asking what Yuri’s sizes were so that they could send over some samples from their winter and spring line. While Yuuri was hesitant to put Yuri in the spotlight, he also knew that they couldn’t keep scraping by like they were. Yuri needed clothes and between their food expenses and Yuuri’s tuition, they weren’t going to be able to get by on sheer willpower, alone.

Luckily, Yuuri’s last class would be finishing by the end of the month, freeing up his schedule significantly. He had already notified his advisor that he would not be walking at graduation so that he could devote all of his freetime to his skating and taking care of Yuri.

“Papa, Papa, Papa!” Yuri suddenly called in his ear, patting his belly and jumping up and down in place to try and get Yuuri’s attention. “Someone’s at the door!”

Yuuri blinked and shook his head to clear his thoughts, dragging his tired body to its feet so that he could shuffle to the door where someone was knocking. He knew that he should really be discouraging Yuri from referring to him as “Papa,” but it was difficult to tell him ‘no’ when he was just beginning to get comfortable around Phichit and himself. He would correct the habit...eventually.

Yuuri carefully unchained the door and told Yuri to go play in the other room, getting the child out of the way in case the person at the door was a creep. Yuuri’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw that it was a delivery man with a massive box on his shoulder. Yuuri gestured to the empty space in the living room and followed after the man in shock as he unloaded his burden, asked for Yuuri’s signature, and then left?

What could be in such a large box?

Yuuri inched forward, ignoring Yuri who poked his head around the corner, and tugged at the ends of the box until the tape pulled free from the top. He peeked into the box and gasped in surprise at what was inside. It wasn’t just a few samples from Gymboree’s new winter and spring lines, it had to be the entire collection. Yuuri pulled out pile upon pile of tshirts and jeans and sweaters. There was even a new winter coat and new shoes. Yuuri’s heart was pounding so hard that he could feel it in his ears.

“Y-Yu-chan…?” Yuuri called, looking over his shoulder to where Yuri was still peeking around the corner. “Come over here and look at what the nice people at Gymboree sent you.”

Yuri hesitantly moved forward, shoulders hunched shyly. “For me?”

“Y-Yeah…” Yuuri murmured. He tugged a shirt loose from the pile. It was black with an orange tiger on the belly. “See? Look at all your presents?”

Yuri came to stand close to Yuuri, fingers reaching out to brush against the shirt, eyes trained on the tiger print. “I get to keep all this?” He turned his attention back to Yuuri, a smile working its way on his face.

Yuuri nodded shakily, reaching out to tuck an errant strand of blonde hair behind a shell of an ear. “Yeah, baby, this is all for you.”

“Wow…” Yuri gasped, turning back to the massive box. “This must have costed a billion dollars!”

Yuuri shrugged helplessly. “I’m going to work extra hard so that we can have even nicer things. Would you like that?”

Yuri nodded shyly, moving forward to throw his arms around Yuuri’s neck, hugging him close. “Thank you, Papa…”

Yuuri pulled the child close and buried his nose in blonde hair, holding the boy tightly for a moment before letting him go. “Let’s see if any of this stuff fits you, okay?”  


Yuri nodded, smile wide, and moved to shrug off Yuuri’s old tshirt, hopping in place happily while he waited for Yuuri to straighten out the shirt. When Yuuri tugged the tiger shirt over Yuri’s head, he couldn’t help but to smile back at the massive grin that spread across Yuri’s face.

Though Yuuri hadn’t done much to earn such a generous gift, it felt good to be able to provide Yuri with nice things. It made him feel useful. Like maybe, things could get better, after all.

“What do you say we put on your new shoes and go to the park before I have to go to class?” Yuuri offered.

Yuri nodded quickly, running back to Yuuri’s room to dig for some socks.

Things were beginning to look up.

  
  


**_YUURI KATSUKI RETURNS TO THE SKATING SCENE WITH CHILD IN TOW_ **

_By Alexandra Hommen_

Yuuri Katsuki has announced his plans to return to the ice as this year’s skating season draws to a close. After Katsuki’s poor showing at the Japanese National Championships, many were skeptical that Katsuki would make a comeback in time for next year’s season, but following an instagram post from best friend and former rinkmate, Phichit Chulanont, which featured an image of Katsuki and an unknown child, our correspondents reached out to Katsuki’s former coach.

Celestino Cialdini, a two time Grand Prix gold medalist in the early nineties and Katsuki’s former coach, was able to confirm that the child seen in Chulanont’s instagram post is, indeed, Katsuki’s child. The skater plans to return to the ice next season with both a new child and a new sponsorship from Gymboree, a children’s clothing company, on his side.

_READ MORE_

**Anonymous:** oh, so I guess Katsuki really is a dad, now

 **Katsudamn:** obviously Yuuri is japanese and the kid is whiter than paper, so #fakenews

 **Katsuki_Skate:** that explains why his showing at the gpf was so poor. I guess he just found out?

 **Katsuki_fc_international:** let’s not make any assumptions until we hear from yuuri

     himself, thank you.

 **Katsuki_Skate:** im literally not making any assumptions?? The article is right

          here stating exactly what i said??? But go off i guess…

 **Katsuki_fc_international:** The article doesn’t mention anything about

               why yuuri’s performance was lacking at the gpf last year

 **VikNikDik:** it doesn’t matter because viktor is going to destroy him, anyways

 **Victor_Knucklefuck:** *Victor

 **VikNikDik:** I thought this argument had been settled after the sochi olympics. I

          am s o exhausted

  
  


_March 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia_

Victor stared at his phone screen, refreshed the page, and then stared some more. A child? A father? Yuuri had a child? And was a father? What? Was that why he had withdrawn from all of his competitions? Though Victor supposed that if he had performed poorly at his national championships, then that was reason enough.

But still.

Victor pulled up instagram on his phone and made sure that he was logged into his finsta, pulling up Phichit Chulanont’s profile so that he could find the image in question. Drats. It seemed like it had been deleted. But maybe…

Victor searched for “Katsuki_fc_international” on instagram and easily located one of Yuuri’s major international fanpages, scrolling through the posts featuring professional-grade fan-taken images of Yuuri at older competitions until he located a post featuring a screenshot of Chulanont’s deleted picture.

Wow.

Okay.

That was one cute kid.

And it looked like the article hadn’t been exaggerating. It seemed that the kid was actually Yuuri’s? But how?  Did that mean that Yuuri wasn’t single.

No. No way. Victor refused to even acknowledge that thought as being even remotely plausible.

Yuuri sure as hell hadn’t _seemed_ single when he had given Victor bedroom eyes. It just wasn’t possible.

He needed to focus on more important things. Like how a child could factor into Victor’s careful plan to woo Yuuri at a competition, ask him out on a date, and eventually move into a nice, penthouse apartment in the heart of Saint Petersburg with two-point-five poodles. There wasn’t room in that plan for a kid. How was Victor supposed to work with a kid.

Okay.

Deep breath.

He could do this. He could work with a kid. He would just have to change his plans for a romantic evening to a family-friendly one. He would show Yuuri that he was capable of stepping in as a competent parent. Sure, he often forgot to take out the garbage and the only reason he managed to make it anywhere on time was because of his meticulously curated set of alarms and planners, but still. Victor had always been responsible when it came to caring for Makkachin, and it couldn’t be much more difficult than that, could it?

Could it?

“Vitya!” A voice suddenly hollered, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Get back to practice or so help me, I will hand you over to Lilia without hesitation!” Yakov’s face was turning and interesting shade of red and Victor supposed that that meant that his ten minute break had morphed into something much longer.

“Oh, Yakov! How do you expect me to skate when I’m obviously heartsick!” He threw an arm across his head for good measure, sliding his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants and gliding away from where Yakov stood at center ice, a single, stationary figure amongst the chaos.

Yakov pointed to Victor’s designated section of the ice. “You better not be fantasizing about that Katsuki boy, again!” Yakov paused his lecture, turning his attention to something that he must have spotted out of the corner of his eye. “Gosha! I have told you time and again! Your free leg needs to be higher! Higher!”

Georgi sniffled disdainfully. “It’s my _artistic vision_ , Yakov! You must give a bird room to fly!”

Victor quickly pulled his phone back out while Georgi and Yakov were busy arguing, scrolling back through the comments on the news article that had dropped that morning.

What was he going to do?

  


_March 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Thankfully, with only a few lectures left in the half semester course Yuuri was currently enrolled in, his professor didn’t mind if Yuuri brought Yuri along as long as Yuri kept quiet. Thankfully, Yuri wasn’t a particularly loud child, and so it wasn’t difficult to keep him occupied with a coloring book or two while Yuuri took careful notes in his _Anthology of Russian Literature_.

Thankfully, the lecture passed by without much issue, Yuri quietly coloring and when he was bored of that, staring at the white board as the professor scribbled various Russian words out. When Yuuri noticed that Yuri wasn’t coloring anymore, he turned his attention to the child sitting next to him.

“Would you like a juice box and some animal crackers, Yu-chan?” Yuuri whispered quietly, reaching over for his backpack when he saw Yuri nod and fishing out the juice box and sandwich bag of animal crackers he had packed for their journey. He passed them over to Yuri and took his coloring book away, keeping his eye on the whiteboard as he moved to make sure that he wouldn’t miss anything.

The rest of the lecture passed by quickly and thankfully without issue. When the professor announced that they were free to go, Yuuri stood and quickly moved to pack up his books and bundle up Yuri’s trash.

“Alright, Yu-chan, time to go to the rink!” Yuuri announced cheerily, trying to make the prospect of hanging out in an ice rink for three hours sound more exciting than it was.

Yuri grumbled and wiggled to his feet, letting Yuuri shuffle him into his coat and hat, tucking his braid and his ears into the warm beanie. Finally, when Yuuri was satisfied, he shouldered his backpack and his skating bag and offered his hand for Yuri to take, urging him towards the door.

Before they could leave, Yuuri dragged Yuri over to the desk where the professor was still standing and offered a shy “Thank you, again, Professor for letting Yuri come. It really makes things a lot easier for me.”

The professor waved him off. “Oh, I don’t mind, Yuuri. You’re a good student and your son is well behaved. It’s no trouble.”

Yuuri nodded sheepishly and then nudged Yuri forward. “Thank the kind professor, Yu-chan.”

“ _Zdravstvuy, Yurachka_ ” The professor offered kindly.

Yuri turned his attention nonchalantly to the woman standing in front of him and then suddenly announced. “ _Spasibo. Vashe men’she bylo skuchno_.”

Both Yuuri and the professor stared in silence for a moment or two before the professor burst into laughter. “ _Ah, Spasibo, Yurachka_.”

Yuuri continued to stare, slack jawed. “Y-Yu-chan! You didn’t say that you spoke Russian…” Though Yuuri supposed he should have been able to piece that together given Yuri’s name. He turned back to the professor, not sure if Yuri had said something inappropriate. “I’m sorry if he caused any offense, he’s recently, er, adopted, so we’re new to this whole thing.”

The professor shrugged off Yuuri’s apology and moved to gather her things from the desk with a pat to Yuri’s head.

“It’s not a problem, Yuuri. I look forward to seeing you again, next week.”

Yuuri nodded and sighed, grabbing for Yuri’s hand and heading to the door, muttering under his breath. Once they were out of the classroom, Yuuri pulled Yuri against the wall and knelt down in front of him. “Yuri, you didn’t tell me that you spoke Russian. Is that what you like to speak in? Do you like Russian better?”

Yuri shook his head quietly. “Mama talks Russian. But I can’t talk to Papa if I don’t talk in English…”

Yuuri tutted. “I can work on it if that would make you happy. Would that make you happy, Yu-chan? To speak some Russian at home?”  


Yuri nodded his head and hid his face shyly in Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri patted his back comfortingly and then sighed when it seemed that Yuri wasn’t going to let go. Carefully, he scooped Yuri up with his free arm and shouldered his bags, once more. Thankfully, the rink was close enough that they could walk.

“Yuuri! Yuri! Ciao ciao!” Celestino called out when he saw Yuuri and Yuri enter the rink.

“Ciao ciao…” Yuri shyly called back as Yuuri grinned. He walked them over to one of the benches and set his bags and Yuri down so that he could start stretching.

Celestino, who was already on the ice, skated over so that he could chat with Yuri while Yuuri did his warm up stretches.

“Did you go to school with Papa, Yuri?” Celestino asked cheerfully.

Yuri nodded shyly, still not entirely used to Celestino’s excited energy. Yuuri was thankful that he had responded to Yuri’s existence with the same sort of ease that he responded to everything. It relieved a massive amount of pressure.

Yuuri grinned and sat down on the bench beside Yuri, pulling out his skates and moving to lace them up. “Are you going to watch me skate, or do you want your coloring book?”

Yuri pointed to Yuuri’s skates. “I wanna see you dance with your knife shoes!”

Celestino laughed loudly. “Soon, we’ll have you on your own pair of knife shoes!”

Yuri turned glittering eyes to Yuuri. “Papa! Papa, can I really! Can I really have my own?”

“Uhm…”Yuuri answered hesitantly, thinking about all of their running expenses and how expensive skating lessons were. Even if he managed to secure a pair of skates for Yuri that wouldn’t ruin his feet, finding someone who could teach him would be an unnecessary expense. Yuuri wasn’t exactly a qualified instructor, himself, and he didn’t want to risk teaching Yuri incorrectly. He had plenty of horrible skating habits that he didn’t necessary want to pass on to Yuri. But still, Yuri looked so happy and excited, and Yuuri couldn’t bear to let him down. “Sure! As soon as I can, I promise that I’ll get you a pair of skates.”  
  
If he could just manage to podium at nationals, the prize money would give him enough to find Yuri a pair of skates. He could manage that. He could scrape together that much money, at least.

Yuri screamed in excitement, jumping around the bench as Yuuri hurriedly tried to get him to calm down and sit, once more. Celestino laughed from where he stood on the ice. “You’ll soon have a world champion on your hands, Yuuri. Trust me, I can spot them from a mile away.”

Yuuri bit back any snide remark about how Celestino obviously needed to get his vision checked if he had ever mistakenly thought that Yuuri would be world champion material. Instead, Yuuri located the banana that he stored in his backpack and peeled it, handing it off to Yuri with strict instructions to not move off of the bench unless he had instructions from Yuuri.

With that done, Yuuri hit the ice, skating a few laps before stopping before Celestino to receive instructions.

“Alright, Yuuri. Let’s get to work. I want to see a few run throughs of your free from the GPF so we can try and pick apart what, exactly, needs the most work. I know that your jumps need some improvement, but we’re going to have to work on building your stamina back up before we can work on those too much. For now, just mark the jumps.”

Yuuri nodded, wincing slightly at the memory of his stunning defeat at the Grand Prix Final. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and got to work, running through his program without music.

His theme last year had been “Victory.” What a joke.

Celestino hummed along to the program as Yuuri ran through it once, offering slight corrections and then instructing Yuuri to run through it, again. They repeated this process until Yuuri was dripping sweat and he felt ready to drop dead where he stood.

Celestino clapped his hands happily. “Alright! Let’s call it a night for now!” He paused before speaking, again. “And Yuuri, we have plenty of time before next seasons starts, but you might want to start thinking about a theme for this year’s programs. I can start thinking of some music if you want me to?”

Yuuri shook his head, still panting, dabbing at his damp forehead with a gloved hand. “Actually, Coach, I was thinking that…uhm...that it might be nice if I, maybe, chose my own theme and music? If that’s okay?”  


Celestino blinked in shock before chuckling. “Of course, Yuuri! You’re always in charge of your own programs as long as you’re not hurting yourself. Start giving it some thought and let me know when you’ve chosen something. I’ll let you know if the music is strong enough to carry you for the entire season.”

Yuuri adamantly refused to think about how the first and only time he had brought music to Celestino, it hadn’t made the cut.

“Thank you, Coach.” Yuuri breathed, bowing at the waist before skating for the barrier so that he could take his skates off. Once he was slumped down on the bench next to where Yuri had nodded off, using Yuuri’s backpack as a pillow, Yuuri carefully removed his skates and packed them away before turning to Yuri.

“Yu-chan, it’s time to wake up. We’re going to take our bath here tonight before we leave, okay?” Yuuri asked gently, rubbing Yuri’s back and brushing blonde hair out of his face.

Yuri grumbled and blinked away, bleary green eyes taking in the empty rink. “Papa finished skating?”

Yuuri nodded with a small smile on his face. “Yup, all finished. Now, c’mon, let’s get cleaned up.”

Yuri held out his arms so that Yuuri would carry him and Yuuri scooped him and their bags up, stumbling towards the showers with fatigue weighing him down.

“I’m going to call it a night, Yuuri! The doors will be locked, just make sure you pull the front door all the way shut behind you when you leave.” Celestino called out from his own bench. It was a familiar routine for Yuuri who often stayed late at the rink so he simply waved his free hand at Celestino and disappeared into the locker room.

Undressing both himself and Yuri and shuffling them into the showers proved to require more effort than Yuuri had expected, but eventually, they were both standing under the warm spray. Yuuri quickly ran shampoo and conditioner through his own hair before massaging a no-tears children’s shampoo and conditioner combination formula into Yuri’s. When that was done, he scrubbed them both down quickly before making sure they were rinsed off. When he was satisfied, he turned the water off and dried himself off quickly before scooping Yuri up with the towel, patting his hair dry with the free end while he walked them back to the locker room.

Thankfully, the locker room has hair dryers built into the vanity section of the large room, so once he had Yuri dressed in some warm clothes, he tugged the child over and carefully dried his hair enough that it wouldn’t make him sick to go out into the cold before hurrying to dress himself and run a towel over his own wet hair.

“Okay, Yuri! Let’s get ready to go!” Yuuri called with overexaggerated cheer. He had asked a lot of Yuri today by having him follow along to both class and the rink and he knew that the child must have been exhausted.

Without hesitation, Yuuri tugged Yuri up into his arms, again, fighting back a shiver when the child buried his cold nose against Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri rooted around in his backpack with one hand until he could locate the child’s blanket that he had packed, just in case, and wrapped it around Yuri as best he could, tucking the blanket around the back of Yuri’s neck and cheeks where the boy’s beanie couldn’t reach.

Satisfied, Yuuri zipped his bag closed as much as he was able and shoulder both his backpack and his skating bag, shutting the lights off as he left.

Thankfully, the walk back to the apartment wasn’t long and so in almost no time, Yuuri was shouldering open their front door and setting Yuri’s sleepy form on the sofa where he continued to doze. Yuuri moved to turn a movie on the television to keep Yuri occupied in case he woke up more while he moved into the kitchen to start working on something for them to eat for dinner.

“Hey, Yuuri.” Phichit announced, coming out of his room. He wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist from behind for a quick squeeze before moving to the living room. “Your mom messaged me on Line saying that she’s been trying to call you. You might want to give her a call.”

Yuuri sighed and pulled his phone from his pants pocket, glancing at his numerous notifications to see that his mother had, in fact, attempted to call him several times throughout the day. He checked the time and noted that it wouldn’t be horribly late in Japan. He had been putting off giving her a call since the final. He knew he had to call her. Especially since he was sure there would be an article or two floating around since Phichit’s instagram post.

He sighed heavily and leaned against the counter, heart beating a quick staccato in his chest and lungs steadily filling with oxygen. He needed to stay calm. This wasn’t a big deal. He was just kind of a dad, now. And he wasn’t retiring anymore. And he might not be returning home, after all. No biggie. No big deal.

It was a big deal.

But either way, she deserved a phone call.

With one more heavy sigh, Yuuri unlocked his phone and dialed the number that he could have phoned in his sleep.

The other line answered after two rings.

  
“ _Okaa-san..._ ” Yuuri sighed. “ _It seems that a lot has happened._ ”


	5. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could this finally be turning into an actual victuuri fic??? lets find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall are doing well! Here is the next chapter of the fic! We are Finally moving forward!
> 
> Hopefully, in another chapter or two, we'll be moving onto some competitions!
> 
> Also! I'm working on a new AU (something way more dark than this) and I'll keep you posted once I get through writing enough of that to start posting it!

_March 2001, Sofia, Bulgaria_

Victor’s heart was beating so hard that he was certain it was going to simply beat right out of his chest. This year’s Junior World Championships felt different than previous years. There was a strange energy pulsing just beneath his veins. Something just shy of assurance, but more intense than resignation. Like Victor just _knew_ . Like he just _knew_ that he was going to win.

Gold.

He was going to take it.

He could feel Yakov’s hands on his back, urging him towards the ice with one final, gruff, encouragement, but Victor needed a moment. His hands were still shaking and his vision had tunneled until all he could see was the ice. Right there. Right there in front of him.

It was so beautiful. It was so beautiful, and it was calling him.

  
  


_March 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

“ _Yuuri, I can’t pretend that I’m not shocked. You have a child, now? And you didn’t once think to call your mother and_ tell _her?_ ” His mother’s voice was rough with both disappointment and concern. “ _I know that sometimes, you have difficulty talking with us, but this is different, Yuuri._ ”

Yuuri sighed, his shoulders slumped. He could hear Yuri and Phichit giggling in the living room, and Yuuri was grateful that Phichit was keeping Yuri occupied so that he wouldn’t be able to hear the distress in his voice. “I-I know, Mom...I’m really sorry. I just keep messing up…”

He could hear his mother sigh, a single rush of static into the phone. “Y _uuri, I love you. We all love you. But you have got to start depending on us a little more. I shouldn’t have had to find out about apparently having a grandchild from Mrs. Kurosawa at the grocery store. The whole town is abuzz about you deciding not to retire! I had thought that you were coming home.”_

Yuuri shrugged helplessly. “I know, Mom.” A pause to collect himself. “Things just keep happening so quickly. I should have called you, but I guess I got caught up in everything.”

“ _And what about the child’s mother? Has she still yet to be found?_ ” Hiroko asked carefully.

“I might have, sort of, not called the police when I found him…?”

“ _Yuuri!_ ”

“I know, I know! Look, he didn’t even have a jacket on when I found him on the bus, and it was freezing outside! Besides, he had all sorts of paperwork on him like his passport, birth certificate, immunization chart...I don’t think his mother _wants_ to be found…”

“ _Yuuri...You know your father and I will love and support you no matter what, but do you really think you can handle taking all of this on, right now? You can come home if you want to, Yuuri. You don’t need a medal or a degree or anything at all. You can come home whenever you want._ ”

“I-I know that, Mom…” The truth was, that even though Yuuri was well aware that there was no qualifier on his place in Hasetsu, it would still feel like a failure to return home with _nothing_ to show for all of the time, money, and energy his parents had put into sending him to the United States. He would finish his degree, at least, and with the Gymboree sponsorship riding on Yuuri’s success in the next season, then he would just have to succeed there, as well. “And besides, Yuri is hardly any trouble, at all.”

_“What are you going to do when you’re competing? You can’t just take him everywhere you go, Yuuri_ …”

Yuuri sighed, again. “I know, Mom. I’ll...I’ll figure something out.”

“ _I_ _think you need to come home, Yuuri. If you are determined to be a father to this child, then you need help from someone other than Phichit. Yuri needs to be playing with other children and he needs to be seeing a dentist and he needs to be starting school and a whole world of other needs that you could have taken care of if you came back to Hasetsu._ ”

“I don’t know, Mom...I’m not sure moving him out of the country would be the best idea if I’m not his legal guardian…” Yuuri offered helpless, as attractive as the option of going home for a while seemed. “Besides, Celestino is here in Detroit and we still have my programs to figure out for the season. Maybe when the season ends, I can look into relocating to Hasetsu or Fukuoka, but until I can get through this season, going back to Hasetsu might do more harm than good.”

His mother was quiet for a beat or two before she spoke again. “ _Okay, Yuuri. If this is what you think is best, then I’ll lay off for a little bit. But! And this is a big but, I’m going to be telling Minako about this and so you might need to expect a few visits from her. And I want you to start calling me more often. It's hard to keep up with you when you hardly ever call…_ ”

Yuuri groaned at the thought of his mother informing Minako about all this baby drama. Surely, she would be on the next available flight to Detroit if she knew any of this was going down. He would just have to deal with that issue as it became one… “So, you’re not mad, Mom?”

“ _I was never mad, Yuuri. I just wish you wouldn’t suffer on your own so much. If you want to be a father to this child, then I believe in you and I support you, but you’re not on your own._ ” A pause. _“And you need to look into what the legal adoption procedures are for children in the United States. I won’t go much longer without meeting my grandchild, Yuuri! Mark my words!_ ”

Yuuri chuckled and shrugged helplessly, choosing not say anything about the forms that were just waiting on his signature. He would need to mail those in soon if he would be competing in a few months, but he just wasn’t ready, yet. “I’ll get right on that, Mom.”

Suddenly, there came a crash from the living room and Yuuri winced even though Phichit called back a quick “We’re okay!”

“Look, I need to go. I think Phichit might have killed Yuri…” Yuuri mumbled distractedly.

“ _Okay, Yuuri. We love you! Make sure to call soon! And let me speak to Yuri, next time!_ ”

With that, the line cut off.

  
  


**_YAKOV FELTSMAN ANNOUNCES NEW TRAINING PROJECT FOR SUMMER 2013. COULD VICTOR NIKIFOROV POSSIBLY BE RELOCATING?_ **

_By: Anna Freitag_

On Monday morning, Yakov Feltsman, coach to figure skater Victor Nikiforov, announced his intentions to introduce a new training project for select students at the figure skating mega center, Yubileyny Sports Palace. Coach Feltsman intends to take this elite group of students to a currently undisclosed international training facility so that they can prepare for the upcoming season while learning from a new set of trainers and choreographers.

The remaining students at Yubileyny will be training under Coach Zagitova, who has worked closely with Feltsman in the past as an assistant coach and choreographer. Though it has not been disclosed whether or not Victor Nikiforov is one of the students that Coach Feltsman has chosen, given Nikiforov’s skill and desirability, we can almost be certain that any training center outside of Saint Petersburg would be dying to get their hands on him.

This is what Coach Zagitova had to say about the program

_ <READ MORE> _

**NikiforovLover26** : I don’t know why the writer thinks victor would bother with any other rink. He doesn’t need the training

**VictorNikiforhead:** You can’t stay at the top of your sport if you’re never willing to improve your technique. I love Victor just like anyone else, but even I can admit that his spins were looking a little weak this last season

**BinktopLove:** Weak??? Does a gold medal look weak???? Obviously Victor doesn’t need more training or he wouldn’t have so many titles???

**VictorNikiforhead:** his pcs from worlds begs to differ but go off i guess??

**Nikiforov_fc_international:** If Victor decides to leave Yubileyny, then it’ll only make him a stronger skater. Let’s all agree to support him no matter what

**IceDaddy:** Retweet. Choosing to branch out and try a new type of training can only be good for him

**Bink:** Agreed. Besides, his appearance hasn’t even been confirmed, yet. This writer is just trying to stir up drama before an official confirmation could be released

  
  


_March 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia_

Victor stared down at his phone, refreshed the page, and then stared at it some more. He turned his attention to where Yakov was standing at center ice, and narrowed his eyes.

“Yakov?” Victor called sweetly. “What’s this about a training program?”

“You can thank me later.” Yakov gruffed. “By never mentioning that boy’s name in this rink ever again. I’ve had to listen to you whine for months now and I’m tired of hearing about your broken heart, Vitya.”

Victor’s eyes, somehow, narrowed even further. “Yakov, what did you do.”

Silence.

“Yakov, what did you _do?_ ” His voice went high pitched at the tail end of the sentence, turning into more of a pitiful whine than an intimidating inquisition.

Suddenly, Mila came to stop beside him, arms crossed over her chest. “We all were getting sick of hearing about this boy that you have a crush on, so Yakov organized a two week long training camp in the United States.”

Victor stared at her. “What?”

Yakov stared at the ceiling for a moment or two, seemingly looking heavenward for strength, before turning back to Victor. “I’m taking you to see this boy you love so much. Two weeks, Vitya. I’m giving you two weeks to work things out, but in return, I need you to promise me that you’ll never mention his name in this rink ever again.” A pause. “Besides, Celestino is quite good at spins and yours were horrible at Worlds.”

Victor stared. And stared. And then stared some more. It was so quiet in the rink that Victor could almost hear the faint sound of Georgi weeping in the locker room about his recent ex, Anya. Almost.

And then, all at once, Victor erupted.

“ _Oh, Yakov_!” Victor cried, skating towards Yakov with the force of a dying man. “What will I say to him? Do you think he’ll like me back? What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?”

Yakov held up a single hand to halt Victor where he stood. “That is for you to determine, Vitya. Either way, you have two weeks to make something of it, and if not, I want you to drop it.”

Victor mulled it over for all of two seconds. “Okay, agreed.”

How hard could it be to make Yuuri fall in love with him? Yuuri had already been halfway there when Victor dropped him off at his room back in Sochi. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

Except Yuuri hadn’t been at Four Continents, and he hadn’t been at Worlds, and now it seemed that he was a father. Apparently, the plan from the Grand Prix of challenging Victor for his throne had changed, and so Victor wasn’t entirely sure how to change, with it.

But, two weeks.

Victor could figure something out in two weeks, couldn’t he? And if he couldn’t, then he would just let it go just like Yakov had said. That would be for the best.

For now, it might be wise for him to start looking for children’s toys online. If he was going to win Yuuri over, that would mean winning his son over, too.

  
  
  


_March 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

“You did _what_?” Yuuri shrieked, glaring at Celestino with as much murderous intent as he could summon in his panicked state. “Celestino how _could you?_ ”

Celestino shrugged helplessly from where he stood rinkside. “His students are the best in the world when it comes to jumps, Yuuri. There is a lot you could learn from him. Besides, he’s bringing Nikiforov with him. I thought you would have been excited!”

Yuuri gaped. “How could I possibly be excited to face Victor when I bombed so badly at the final? He’s going to think that I’m a joke…”

Celestino sighed, crossing his arms. “Look, Yuuri, Victor is going to be here to train just like you. He’s not going to look down on you because you’re going to be rinkmates which makes you equals! Besides, its only for two weeks and you really need those jumps if you’re going to stand a chance this upcoming season. You have to at least get your salchow down if you’re going to get your GOE high enough to touch Victor’s.”

Yuuri’s shoulders slumped, knowing that Celestino was right. “Two weeks?” He sighed, resignation coloring his voice.

“Two weeks.” Celestino agreed with a short nod.

Yuuri sighed, again, and skated to the barrier, dusting off his skates before sliding his guards back into place. He slumped onto the bench next to where Yuri was playing some cat game on Yuuri’s phone that Phichit had installed the previous night. He moved to pull off his skates, tucking an errant strand of blonde hair behind Yuri’s ear.

“You ready to go home, kid?” Yuuri asked, peeking over Yuri’s shoulder to make sure that he was still playing the cat game and not on any other app.

Yuri nodded his head without answering, poking at a cardboard box on the phone screen and dragging it to a new location. Yuuri was glad that he was having fun, but he made a mental note to make sure he limited Yuri’s game consumption so that he wouldn’t become too dependant on them.

Yuuri glanced over his shoulder to where Celestino stood. “Alright, me and Yuri are going to head out, now. When do Victor and his team arrive?”

Celestino nodded, moving to his own bag on another bench. “Three weeks.”

Yuuri nodded, heart heavy. “Three weeks.”

  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

The training facility in Detroit was...underwhelming. Victor had foolishly been expecting some mega complex like Yubileyny, but he had been surprised to see that rather than training at a large sports palace, they would be spending their time at a modest rink tucked against the backend of a large university.

It was going to be fine. Everything was fine.

Victor had a solid plan. He would swoop in, like the romantic hero that he was, and woo Yuuri with his skating. He had already been piecing together the choreography for his routines for the next season and he just knew that they would capture Yuuri’s attention. They had been inspired by him, after all.

And as far as the child went, well. Victor would just figure that out as he went. He had never spent any sort of extended time around children and so he wasn’t entirely sure how one should interact with them, but it couldn’t be that hard. Right? Right.

“Celestino agreed to share ice time with us in twenty minutes.” Yakov gruffed beside him, hand firmly locked on Mila’s elbow to keep her from running forward. “That gives you enough time to warm up.”

Victor nodded and turned back to the skating facility, preparing himself to walk through his doors and meet his maker. He just hoped that Yuuri would give him the time of day.

It didn’t take long for them to locate the rink. The facility offered a small gym, a locker room, and a large wooden floored room for stretching, but its center was the large ice rink that occupied most of the facility’s floor plan.

Victor was just about to quietly make his way to a bench in order to stretch out and pull on his skates, when he looked out onto the ice and saw it.

  
  


_March 2001, Sofia, Bulgaria_

Once Victor could manage to muster up the strength to do so, he moved forward, pulling off his skate guards and handing them off to Yakov. This wasn’t Victor’s first competition, but this felt different. Almost like it really was his first time. He had practiced his choreography and he knew that he could perform his programs in his sleep, but when he took his first step out onto the ice, blades sliding forward so easily, he felt like a baby fawn learning to walk for the first time.

He pushed his body forward until he was at center ice. His shoulders were tense and so he forcefully relaxed them, taking a few final breaths as he moved into his opening pose.

He closed his eyes, taking one last moment to himself, and then opened them again. And then, he saw it, stretches and stretches of untouched ice just waiting for him to mark it all up.

And so he did.

  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

The person skating out a lazy step sequence on the ice was breathtaking. They weren’t skating anything particularly cohesive, just bits and pieces of choreography here and there, but it was still stunning. A certain type of effortless that Victor had never been able to really capture no matter how medals he had won.

The way that the figures blades carved through the ice was practically melodic in the otherwise silent rink. It was like they were making music.

Victor stumbled over to a bench, slumping down heavily so that he wouldn’t have to take his eyes off of the skater. Now that he was closer, he could make out familiar features. A mop of brown-black hair. A stocky figure encased in blue workout clothing. A pair of blue rimmed glasses.

If Yuuri Katsuki could skate like _that_ when he wasn’t trying, then why had he done so poorly at the Final? Where had this effortlessness disappeared to?

It almost made Victor wonder if he had something to be worried about in the upcoming season, after all. After Yuuri’s lack of appearance at FCC or WFSC, Victor had been convinced that the next season would just be a repeat of every other year. But now, watching Yuuri slip into a layback that looked so easy that Victor almost couldn’t spot the flexing of muscles, Victor wasn’t so sure.

He stood from the bench and made to move forward. Maybe he would call out to Yuuri? Grab his attention and somehow convince him that he, Victor Nikiforov, was worthy of dating him. He pulled his phone out, just in case he could manage to offer a number exchange, and began to take a shaky step forward when he felt a tug at the end of his heavy winter coat.

Furrowing his brows, Victor turn his attention to the end of his coat where a tiny fist was clenched in the expensive material tugging. He followed the arm until his eyes were locked with bright green ones, blonde hair flopping messily around the face of a small child.

Could this be?

And then the child opened his mouth, tugging hard enough on Victor’s coat that Victor had no choice but to give the child his entire attention.

“Do you have any games on your phone?”


	6. Detroit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor finally meet and things....do not go according to Victor's plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! I hope you are doing well! Here is the next chapter of Hide and Seek and finally!!! Yuuri and Victor meet! Look forward to things moving forward in the romance department next chapter!
> 
> I also posted the first chapter to my new yoi hunger games au last night, Invicta. Its,,,very much not as fluffy as this fic, but if you're into that sort of fic, I hope that you'll give it a try!
> 
> ((i'm senshoo on tumblr))

**_Minako-sensei_ **

[18:45]  _ Youre lucky I’m waiting until you’re finished with classes to fly over _

[18:46] Minako-sensei…

[18:46]  _ I mean it, Yuuri! _

[18:47]  _ To think that I had to hear about your new  _ child _ from your mother _

[18:47]  _ i raised you with my  _ own bare hands

[18:49] i’m really sorry...i just couldnt figure out how to tell you. I was going to say something, i swear

[18:50]  _ either way, i’m heading to detroit in a few weeks. Its the only thing that could get your mother to calm down. You’ve got her worried sick, you know _

[18:53] i know, i know...sorry, again…

[18:55]  _ we love you, kid. That’s why everyone is so worried about you. Even mari can’t help herself.  _

[18:56]  _ i’ll let you know what i’ve booked my flight _

  
  
  
  
  


_ April 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“D-Do...I have... _ games _ on my phone?” Victor responded, staring in confusion at the small child next to him, presumably Yuuri’s son. 

The child nodded. A strand of blonde hair wiggled free from his ponytail and Victor had to fight the urge to reach over and tuck it behind the delicate shell of an ear. He isn’t sure what to  _ do _ , exactly, with children, but he was pretty sure that a stranger reaching out to touch their was a big no. But then again, Victor was pretty sure that talking to stranger, in the first place, was pretty widely frowned upon. He chose to voice his concern. 

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t speak to strangers?” 

The kid didn’t even hesitate. “My papa is right there,” he pointed a single, tiny finger out to the rink where Yuuri is still drifting through his routine. “And I can do what I want! You’re not the boss of me!” 

The kid huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, lower lip jutting out in a definite pout. It was quiet for a moment or two before the child seemed to forget that in order to play with Victor’s phone, he, in fact, needed to speak to him. He turned back to Victor with a determined look on his face. 

“Gimme your phone. I want to play games.” He made grabby hands in Victor’s direction and Victor was so shaken by the sudden turn of events that he really had no choice but to reach into his back pocket and pull his phone free. 

He thumbed open the lockscreen and flipped through the pages on his phone critically. “It doesn’t look like I have any games, I’m afraid…” His voice was quiet towards the end of his sentence as he opens up Snapchat. It was better than nothing. “Look, this is kind of fun, isn’t it?” 

Victor centered the camera on the child’s face and then held his thumb down until the various filters popped up, selecting one that would morph the child’s features until they were hardly recognizable. He pointed to the image on the screen with a quiet chuckle. “See? That’s you.”

Yuri’s jaw hung open in shock, and before Victor could really attempt to stop him, the kid had reached out and snatched the phone clear from Victor’s hand. In the blink of an eye, the child was flipping through filters and shrieking with laughter while Victor held out a cautious hand around the edge of the phone, praying that in his excitement, Yuuri’s son wouldn’t drop his phone and shatter it before Victor could obtain his father’s number. 

“Y-Yuri! Who is this?” A breathless voice called out from the barrier of the rink. “What did we say the rules were for coming to the rink?” 

Ah yes, Yuuri’s son’s name was Yuri, as well. How funny. 

Yuri pouted towards his father and shook Victor’s phone in his direction. “But he has cool games on his phone!” 

Yuuri crossed his arms over his chest and stared Yuri down. “Well, I think it’s time that you give him his phone back. I’m sorry about that--”

Yuuri turned to face Victor and went quiet, his eyes widening and his arms dropping to his sides. “Y-You’re Victor Nikiforov…” 

Victor’s brows furrowed in confusion. Who else would he be? He stared down at himself, just to make sure, patting his chest and stomach absentmindedly. “Why yes. It would appear that I am Victor Nikiforov.” 

“Celestino told me that you would be training here for some time. It’s really a pleasure to meet you!” Yuuri practically fell over himself to offer Victor his outstretched hand, fingers quivering slightly. “I’m honored to share the ice with you!”

But they had already met? Or at least, Victor had been dead convinced that they had. Hell, he had been planning their future wedding for the better part of three months. He even had a little notebook where he had practiced signing  _ Victor Katsuki-Nikiforov _ until he was satisfied. Had he made a mistake? Did Yuuri Katsuki have an identical, figure skating twin who was coincidentally also named Yuuri?

Oh, even worse, did Yuuri not remember the banquet? The thought was so horrific that Victor could hardly stomach its presence in his head, but there really was no explanation for why Yuuri would be introducing himself to Victor with such potent nervous energy. This was not the man who had thrown down the gauntlet and challenged him at Sochi last year. This was a stranger. 

But, those hands looked familiar. Small hands. Short fingers, wide palms. Victor wanted to hold them. He would just have to start at square one. Or really, square negative one. It was fine. This was fine. He had three weeks. He and Yuuri had barely even spoken at Sochi. He could accomplish what had been accomplished at Sochi in three weeks, surely? It was too late to turn back and return to Russia, he had had plenty of boxes mailed to Detroit to fill the temporary apartment that Yakov had found for the Russian team. 

And so Victor plastered on what he hoped was a warm smile and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yuuri. You have lovely spins.”

Yuuri’s face turned a delightful shade of pink and he half heartedly denied the compliment, though Victor could clearly see how it pleased him. He turned his attention to Yuri, possibly hoping to direct it away from himself. 

“This is my son, Yuri.” When Yuri didn’t respond to the introduction, fiddling with the zipper of his jacket, Yuuri hissed hysterically. “Yuri! Say hello to Mr. Nikiforov”

Yuri didn’t even glance at Victor. “Hello Mr. Nikiforov. Is all your hair gray because you’re really old?”

Victor’s soul left his body for approximately fifteen seconds before he could manage to get a grip and shakily run a hand through his hair. Yuuri was making appalled apologies to Victor, but Victor focused his stare on Yuri. “It is quite a funny color, isn’t it? I guess you’ve never seen someone with hair this color?”

Yuri turned his wide green eyes to Victor, fingers still playing with the zipper of his jacket. “I’ve seen lots before. Papa has pictures of you all over the living--”

“Okay!” Yuuri suddenly shrieked, hurrying over to the bench to frantically begin unlacing his skates and throwing things in his duffel bag. “I believe our practice time is over for today, so we’ll see you around, Victor!” 

Victor was quite positive that he had never seen someone wipe down their skates so quickly. Before long, Yuuri was standing with a heavy sports bag over one shoulder and a backpack over the other. He zipped Yuri’s jacket to his chin and plucked the kid’s hand from the bench tugging him to his side. 

“Yuuri! Where are you going?” Celestino’s voice suddenly boomed from where he was stepping out of the office tucked in a corner. “There’s still time before the Russian team has ice time.” 

Yuuri waved Celestino off. “It’s nearly time for Yuri’s nap, and I should be studying for my final next week, anyway. We’ll see you tomorrow, Coach!” 

“A-Ah, well, then see you tomorrow, Yuuri!”

“Say bye-bye, Coach.” Yuuri urged Yuri somewhat hysterically. 

“Bye-bye, Coach! Bye-bye Mr. Nikiforov!” Yuri called cheerfully before being ushered away. 

Somehow, being referred to as ‘Mr. Nikiforov’ in that particular, childlike voice, made Victor feel positively ancient. 

He lifted a single, weak hand in the air to wave goodbye to Yuri. The other was still running through his hair. 

  
  
  
  


**v-nikiforov**

[ image description: An empty ice rink. The ice is smooth enough that it must have been zambonied just before the picture was taken.]

10.9k likes

**v-nikiforov** Nothing quite like skating on fresh ice #detroit #skateboys #figureskating #smoothasbutter

**VikNikDik** You’re actually in detroit!!!!!

**katsukatsu** wow must be a dream come true for Yuuri

**phichit+chu** Welcome to Detroit!

**christophe-gc** I’m looking forward to seeing some progress shots! ;)

**Thickiforov** @katsukatsu the two best asses in figureskating finally in one place

 

 

 

_ April 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“Papa, are you angry?” Yuri asked quietly as they made their way down the street and towards their apartment.

By this point, Yuuri had managed to quiet the pounding of his heart in his chest and he could feel the rush of adrenaline beginning to fade. He took a deep breath to center himself and then turned a bright smile to Yuri. “A-Ah no! I’m perfectly fine, Yu-chan!” 

Yuri pouted and kicked at the sidewalk under his feet. “I didn’t mean to talk about your pictures...I’m sorry…”

“Yuri, no one is angry at you. I was just a bit...surprised! Besides, it's time for you to take a nap and when you wake up, it’ll be time to make dinner.” 

Yuri tugged at his arm stubbornly, attempting to extract himself from Yuuri’s grip. “No, nap!” 

Yuuri grinned and squeezed the kid’s hand. “Yes, nap! Aren’t you sleepy, honey? I saw that big yawn back at the rink...”

“I didn’t yawn!” Yuri shrieked grumpily, though Yuuri could see a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. 

“Yes you did!” Yuuri teased. He paused long enough to scoop Yuri up, thankful for his upper body strength. He effortlessly shifted his duffle bag over so that Yuri could lean comfortably against his shoulder. Yuuri half expected Yuri to fight the hold, but instead, the kid turned his entire body towards Yuuri, wrapping his arms around Yuuri’s neck and his legs around Yuuri’s sides in a koala hold. 

Yuuri’s teasing grin softened at the corners, one hand curling around Yuri to pat his back reassuringly. “You know that I care for you very much, right Yu-chan?”

Yuri nodded his head quietly against Yuuri’s neck. Yuri’s breath was uncomfortably warm and slightly damp, but Yuuri just pulled him closer. 

“And you know that I’m never going to get angry with you and leave you, right?” 

The response was slightly hesitant, but eventually Yuri nodded. 

“Just making sure you knew, Yu-chan!” Yuuri called happily, not wanting Yuri to grow embarrassed with the suddenly heavy atmosphere. 

As they continued to walk towards their apartment, Yuuri rubbed gentle circles into Yuri’s back until the child was completely lax when Yuuri reached the front door, sound asleep. Yuri whined quietly when Yuuri settled him in his bed, tugging the zipper down on his jacket and pulling his arms free. Yuri’s eyes blinked open when Yuuri pulled him up to tug the blanket beneath him down, and at the sudden jarring, his eyes welled with tears and he let out a single, high pitched sob in frustration. 

“Oh, I know, honey…” Yuuri called soothingly, patting Yuri’s back and urging him beneath the blankets. “I know you’re tired and everything is hard.” 

Once he had wrestled Yuri into place, Yuuri began to stand and pull himself free, but Yuri’s cries only grew louder when Yuuri’s weight shifted away from the bed. His face was turning an alarming shade of red and though Yuuri really needed to study for his exam, at this point in his career as a pseudo-father, he knew that Yuri wouldn’t quiet down and go to sleep if Yuuri didn’t stay with him. 

“Okay, Yu-chan, okay. You’re okay…” Yuuri promised, settling down beside Yuri and pulling the child close enough that he could bury his tiny face in Yuuri’s chest. By this point, Yuri’s ponytail was hopelessly lopsided, so Yuuri carefully tugged the ponytail holder free and combed his fingers gently through Yuri’s hair, carefully detangling the few knots that he came across. 

He really should be studying, but a few minutes of quiet time wouldn’t kill him. He resigned himself to waiting until Yuri had fallen asleep, again, to extract himself.

Then, it would be studying for thirty minutes, waking Yuri up, making dinner, doing the dishes, and then more studying. 

Thankfully, Phichit would be around after dinner to help Yuuri get Yuri into the bath and then into some pajamas, but for now, it was just Yuuri. 

How exhausting. 

  
  
  
  


_ April 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“A-Ah, I’m sorry!” Victor scrambled to apologize. “I didn’t mean to spook him right out of the rink.”

Celestino waved off his apology. “Well, that’s Yuuri for you. It’s just him and Phichit who train under me.” 

“Phichit?” Victor asked, helplessly. 

As if saying his name had summoned him, the doors to the rink opened to reveal a disgruntled Yakov, an overwhelmed Georgi, an excited Mila, and a stranger who was chattering all their ears off. 

“The facilities here are great, but you should really see what it's like to train in Bangkok! It’s way warmer than Detroit and so it's really nice when you’ve been in the rink all day!” 

“Phichit! I see you’ve met your temporary rinkmates!” Celestino chuckled. “Sorry about my student, Coach Yakov, he’s quite the chatterbox.”

Yakov merely grunted and made his way to the bench near Victor to tug the various bags off of his shoulders, cracking his neck before sinking down onto the bench. He gestured for Victor to sit beside him and Victor scrambled to unearth his own skating bag and rifle through it until he located his skates, tugging them on quickly and hurrying for Yakov to finish. By the time they were ready for the ice, it appeared that the others were ready, as well.

“Where is your other boy? Katsuki? He needed help with jumps, as well, did he not?” Yakov asked, glancing out onto the rink to see it completely empty. 

Phichit’s smile faltered, somewhat. “He should be here right now. He still had a little bit of time left on the ice…”

Celestino chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, well, it seems that Yuuri was a bit starstruck when he met Nikiforov, here. Besides, it was time for his kid to go down for a nap, so Yuuri figured it was time to go.” 

“So the rumors are true then? Katsuki had a secret child?” Yakov asked with wide eyes. Georgi and Mila pretended to be talking amongst themselves, but Victor could tell that they grew quiet at Yakov’s line of questioning. 

“Yes, the rumors are true. Kid’s got a pretty big deal lined up with Gymboree, to boot. Wasn’t sure he was going to come back to skating after last season, but things are different now that he’s got the kid. Wants to provide for him and whatnot.” 

“I see. Well, I suppose I will have to wait to assess him tomorrow, then.” Yakov grumbled. “Mila, Gosha, you’re with Celestino for today. Vitya and Chulanont will train with me and we will switch tomorrow.”

“Yes, Coach!” Mila and Georgi called before making their way to the ice where Celestino was standing. 

Victor was about to follow suit when he felt something tug at his elbow. He followed it to a pair of determined eyes. 

“Yuuri looks up to you, you know.” Phichit informed him, attempting at a relaxed tone. “Getting to share the ice with you is a big deal to him. I just wanted you to know that.” 

Victor’s eyes widened slightly before he remembered what Yuuri had told him at the banquet. About how he was determined to skate on the same ice as Victor. Victor was used to having fans and was used to having people look up to him, but he wanted to protect Yuuri’s feelings as best as he could. Even if the entire banquet had just been some drunken secret sharing on Yuuri’s part, it was a precious memory to Victor and he was determined to help Yuuri make some of his wishes a reality. 

Victor nodded firmly. “I understand.”

  
  
  


**_Phich_ **

[17:32]  _ i could give victor ur number if u want _

[17:33] what so i can embarrass myself in textual form, too? I’ll pass

[17:33]  _ bruh this is ur chance. U could finally be up close and personal with victor thickiforov _

[17:35] i appreciate the offer, but i don’t want to freak victor out even more than i already have

[17:35] besides, i have yuri to think about, now. I cant just run away into the sunset with victor. What if he doesnt even like kids?

[17:36]  _ but what if he does? What if he likes  _ you

[17:38] we barely spoke before i freaked out and ran away. I highly doubt it. 

  
  
  


_ April 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

Yuuri knew that Phichit was just teasing him, but he couldn’t help but let out a frustrated groan and drop his head into his hands. He had been carrying a torch for Victor Nikiforov since he was twelve and the thought of that even being remotely a reality has Yuuri’s heart doing somersaults in his chest. 

But no. Victor was in Detroit to train. Because he was a professional. And the reigning world champion. And he took training seriously. Unlike Yuuri who could train and train with everything that he had and still completely bomb at the Grand Prix. Victor wouldn’t even use his number if Phichit had given it to him. 

But still, the part of Yuuri that was still very much a twelve year old fanboy was tempted by the thought that Victor would even touch Yuuri with his mortal fingers. That maybe, tomorrow, at jump practice, Victor might adjust his hips or gently correct his posture. It was addicting. 

The timer went off for the oven and Yuuri let out another groan. 

He could hear Yuri shrieking in the living room, probably jumping from couch to couch even through Yuuri had told him time and time again not to. When the timer to the oven went off, Yuuri could hear Yuri scrambling off of whatever piece of furniture he had been hanging onto so that he could run to the kitchen with an excited giggle. 

Yuuri dragged his weary corpse from the kitchen table and made his way to the oven, turning off  the timer. This was not the time for self pity. He had an excited four year old and some dinosaur nuggets to attend to.

 


	7. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could this finally be turning into a romance fic? lets find out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had some free time so here's another chapter!

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Three days. It had been three days since Victor and the rest of team Russia had arrived in Detroit, and Yuuri was _suffering_. Sure, it was a supreme honor to be able to skate with Victor and to learn from Yakov Feltsman, and sure, Yuuri’s jumps had never been more polished, but having to look at Victor for hours on end and not make an absolute fool out of himself was proving to be more difficult than he had first imagined.

“So you’ll be fine with Yu-chan until I get out of my exam?” Yuuri asked Phichit, turned his spoon through his mug of coffee while Yuri tore his way through a yoghurt cup.

Phichit nodded, tugging the end of Yuri’s ponytail playfully. “Not a problem, Yuuri. I’ll take him to the rink with me and you should be done with your final before my rink time is over.”

Yuri whined and swatted at Phichit’s hands, mouth dotted with spots of bright pink yoghurt. Yuuri chuckled and swiped at the spots with his thumb, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Yuri’s hair. “Are you going to behave for Phichit for a few hours while I’m in class, buddy? It's a big responsibility, you know.”

Yuri nodded solemnly. Yuuri could tell that he was taking it seriously.

Satisfied, Yuuri stood and took his mug to the sink before returning to the table to shoulder his backpack. He gestured to the smaller tote bag sitting on the table. “I packed some snacks, a coloring book, and my tablet for Yuri. The tablet has a parental lock on it, so he shouldn’t be able to open anything he isn’t supposed to, but don’t let him play with it for too long.”

Yuri grumbled when Yuuri swept by to ruffle his hair and straighten his shirt out. Phichit grinned and raised his hand in a mock salute. “Aye-aye, Captain. Good luck with your final! I’ll be sure to let _Victor_ know where you are.”

Yuuri groaned and thumped his forehead lightly against the doorframe. “Ugh, leave me to die in peace, Phichit.”

“Alright, alright. See you later!” Phichit called as Yuuri was shutting the door.

Yuuri nodded and closed the front door firmly behind himself, making sure to lock it tightly before he left. He pressed his ear against the door for a few minutes and left when all he could make our were muffled giggles and murmuring. At first, Yuri would break into hysterical sobs when Yuuri had to leave him in the care of someone else, but it seemed that he was used to Phichit enough to not become too frightened.

Yuuri could feel warmth blossoming in his chest. Everyday, taking care of Yuri got a little easier.

  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Three days. It had been three days since he and the rest of team Russia had arrived in Detroit, and Victor was _suffering_ . Sure, Victor got to see Yuuri skate for hours on end and sure, Celestino was a surprisingly good spin instructor, but Victor was only barely holding himself together. Yuuri was just so _beautiful_ . And his son was so _cute_. And Victor wanted to squeeze both of them to his side and never let go.

Still, being able to see Yuuri and share the ice with him was better than going without, and so Victor tried to just be satisfied with that. Anything was better than being alone back in Russia with only Makkachin to keep him company.

Victor sighed and skated over to the boards, deciding to take a quick break before jumping back into his spin practice. He needed to get his clear his head. Celestino was showing Mila an ice dancing technique that he thought would work quite well to transition her into her step sequence, and so Victor would wait until he was done to show him one more run through of his own program.

Victor could see the doors to the rink opening out of the corner of his eye and he turned towards them with excitement in his heart. He tried not to let the disappointment show too clearly on his face when he saw it was just Phichit.

Oh! But he had Yuri with him.

Victor smiled widely as Phichit moved closer to the bench Victor was resting on, tugging Yuri along by his hand. When they were standing in front of the bench, Phichit grinned and nodded in greeting.

“Can you say hello to Mr. Nikiforov, Yuri?” Phichit asked, tugging the child forward from where he had hidden himself behind Phichit’s legs. Even though it had been a few days since they had met, Yuri still seemed to be shy around Victor.

Yuri turned his face into Phichit’s thigh and mumbled out what Victor assumed was a greeting.

“Phichit! I’ve told you, just call me Victor. Same goes for you, Yura!” Sheepishly, Victor couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Where is Yuuri? I thought he had morning ice time?”

Phichit grinned slyly. “He had his final exam this morning, so we swapped practice times. I’m watching Yuri here until his dad can come to the rink.” Phichit tugged Yuri over to the bench and sat him down, pulling the tote bag from his shoulder and rifling through it until he could unearth the bag of Cheerios that Yuuri had packed. “Alright, kid, here’s some Cheerios your dad packed for you. Do you want the coloring book or the tablet?”

Yuri shook his head, yanking the bag of cereal from Phichit’s hand. “I want to play games on Victor’s phone!”   


Phichit tugged at Yuri’s ponytail at Yuri’s grumpy tone. “Gentle, Yuri. Remember what you promised your dad this morning?”

“Sorry…” Yuri mumbled. He turned his attention to Victor, next. “Can I play games on your phone?”

“Victor has to practice, Yuri. Maybe you can ask him later.”

Victor shrugged. “It’s okay, I’m taking a break, anyway. You can go on ahead, Phichit, I’ll make sure he gets settled.”

Phichit nodded before moving to a free bench to pull on his skates after extracting a promise from Yuri that he would behave himself. After that, it was just Victor and Yuri. Victor pulled his phone free from his back pocket and opened Snapchat, holding the phone out to Yuri so that he could swipe through the various filters.

Yuri shrieked with joy when he settled on a filter that made his mouth huge, making goofy faces and watching his features morph on the phone.

“That certainly is silly, isn’t it, Yura?” Victor chuckled, happy to see Yuri enjoying himself.

Yuri nodded and held the phone out for Victor. “You, too! Make a silly face!”

Victor agreed, taking hold of the phone and kneeling on the floor in front of Yuri so that the child could see the phone screen over Victor’s shoulder. When he was settled, he focused the camera and pulled the most ridiculous face that he could manage, struggling to hold it when Yuri broke into hysterical giggles, head thrown back in laughter.

They continued like that for a few minutes, passing the phone back and forth as they cycled through different filters, only giving up when they had tried out just about every one of them. Finally, Victor couldn’t avoid practice for any longer, and he set Yuri up with a coloring book that he pulled free from the tote bag.

Victor stood from the bench and prepared to make his way to the ice, once more, when he felt a tug on the side of his sweatpants. He glanced over his shoulder to see Yuri’s lower lip jutted out in a pout and his tiny fist clenched around the material of Victor’s pants.

“What’s wrong, Yura?” Victor asked, confusion evident in his tone.

Yuri pointed to his hair. “Papa tied my hair too tight. Hurts.”

Victor turned his attention to the ponytail that Yuuri must have tied Yuri’s hair into to keep it out of his face. “Ah, I see. Do you want me to fix it, Yura?”

Yuri nodded and scooted over on the bench so Victor could get to his hair. Carefully, Victor tugged the ponytail holder loose from Yuri’s hair and then ran his fingers through the loosened locks, occasionally rubbing his thumbs into Yuri’s scalp to soothe the ache. When he was satisfied, Victor gather Yuri’s hair into his hands and set to work twisting it away from his face and pulling it into a braid that wasn’t loose enough to tug free, but would lessen the ache. His fingers moved mostly on muscle memory. Though it had been many years since Victor had had long hair, he had pulled his own long hair into a braid so many times that he hadn’t hesitated to move his fingers correctly, now.

When he was done, he carefully tied the braid off and patted Yuri’s head. “Better?”

Yuri nodded, and then turned to his coloring book, Victor already forgotten. Victor grinned and stood from the bench, once more, moving to take the ice and continue his practice.

Thankfully, after his break, he was able to mostly push thoughts of Yuuri out of his mind and focus on what he was doing. Since Phichit’s program was still in its early stages, he mostly stuck to the section of the ice that he had designated as his, running through the skeletons of a step sequence that he had been learning for the past few days. That left Yakov with some free time before Yuuri and Georgi were set to come to practice.

Occasionally, Victor would glance over to the bench where Yuri was stationed to see Yakov sitting beside the boy, both figures wearing nearly identical grumbly expressions. The sight nearly made Victor collapse into childish giggles every time he spotted the two of them.

Without Victor even really realizing it, the time flew by and suddenly, Yuuri was pushing through the doors to the rink. Victor couldn’t help but to stop was he was doing and just take in the sight of him. He looked slightly out of breath, as if he had run the entire way to the rink, and his eyes swept right past Victor as he scanned the rink, finally settling when he found the bench that Yuri was waiting on.

“Yuuri!” Phichit called from his spot on the ice. “How did the exam go?”

Yuuri turned his attention to Phichit. “It went a little over time! Sorry I’m late!”

Phichit waved him off. “No problem! Yuri was well behaved the whole time!”

Yuri looked up upon hearing his name, eyes bright. “Papa!” He called excitedly. “I was a good boy!”   


Yuuri grinned as he moved closer, reaching a hand out to ruffle his hair, but paused when he noticed the neat braid that Yuri’s hair was tied into. “Yu-chan! Look how pretty your hair is!”

Yuri nodded and pointed at Victor. “Victor did it! My ponytail was too tight, Papa.”

Yuuri’s brows furrowed with worry. “A-Ah, I’m sorry Yu-chan. I didn’t realize. It was kind of Victor to braid it for you.”

Victor skated up to the boards and moved to pull his phone out of his pocket. “Yuri took some pretty funny pictures with my phone, too.” A pause. “Ah, don’t worry, I wouldn’t send them to anyone without your permission.”

Yuuri grinned and moved towards the boards to look through the pictures when Victor held his phone out. Yuri jumped up from the bench to join him, face flushed with equal parts laughter and embarrassment. Yuuri was so distracted by Yuri that he didn’t even have enough presence of mind to be shy when Victor started swiping through the screenshots from Snapchat.

Before long, they were nearly cheek and cheek, crowding around the phone and laughing quietly over the pictures of Victor and Yuri making silly faces. It was fascinating to see Victor, who is usually so composed, purposefully making himself look to ridiculous. Like Yuuri was getting to see a side of him that no one ever gets to see. It was addicting. And the part of Yuuri that was seemingly always looping Victor Nikiforov’s name on an endless loop was so loud that it was overshadowing the parts of him that suggested that maybe he was assuming too much by standing too close to Victor.

Yuri tugged at the hem of Yuuri’s pants, demanding to see the pictures, too, and when Yuuri glanced down at him, the trance was broken. All at once, blood flooded Yuuri’s face, dying his cheeks and the tips of his ears bright red, and he scrambled to put some space between himself and Victor.

“A-Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to distract you from practice…” Yuuri mumbled, fiddling with his fingers and ignoring Yuri’s whining by his side.

Victor waved him off. “It’s no problem! You know…” Here, Victor paused, biting his lip nervously. Yuuri’s heart practically quaking in response. “I-If I had your number, I could send them to you, maybe? So that you could have some copies?”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in surprise. Victor wanted his number? _His_ number? _Yuuri Katsuki_ ? Sure, it was just to send Yuuri some photos of his son, but _still_ . Yuuri had been dreaming of the day that he would have a contact in his phone saved as _Victor Nikiforov_ for _years_ . And maybe. Just maybe. Yuuri would save his number as just _Victor_. Normally, Yuuri would have much more shame, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and so he couldn’t resist pulling his phone from the pocket in his backpack, offering it up with both hands. He even bowed his head slightly on instinct.

Victor gently plucked the phone from Yuuri’s hand and unlocked it. Thankfully, Yuuri had changed his lockscreen from a picture from Victor’s exhibition skate two years ago to one of Yuri giggling on a swing set. For a moment, Yuuri panicked over whether or not his phone was in English or Japanese, but Victor didn’t seem to have any trouble locating Yuuri’s contacts and typing his name and number in.

“I’m going to send myself a text so that I have your number, too!” Victor announced cheerfully. A moment later, Victor’s phone pinged in his pocket and he was returning the phone to Yuuri.

In a daze, Yuuri took hold of the phone and shakily stared down at the screen where his text messages were still displayed.

Vitya.

Victor had saved his name as _Vitya_ in Yuuri’s phone.

Yuuri knew that diminutives really weren’t _that_ big of a deal, team Russia threw them around more often than given names, but _still_.

“Well, I’ll leave you to practice, then.” Victor smiled. “I need to get to run back and walk Makkachin, anyway.”

With that, Victor left the ice and set to work removing his skates. Seeing that Yuuri was distracted, Yuri turned his attention to Victor, running up to him and beginning to talk his ear off as Victor was tidying up his skates.

With Yuuri’s soul still decidedly floating somewhere just outside of his body, Yuuri got on the ice and met Coach Feltsman where he was standing center ice, working with Georgi.

Vitya.

Victor had saved his name as _Vitya_.

  
  
  


**_Chris_ **

[15:34] chris….help me...im gay.

[15:37] _honey, we been knew_

[15:37] no, chris u dont understand

[15:37] im gay. Like really gay. And im suffering

[15:40] _is this about Yuuri, again?_

[15:40] everything is about Yuuri. All i know is Yuuri. My life is Yuuri.

[15:43] _sure thing, kid_

[15:43] i got his number today. I finally have his number

[15:44] _next step, marriage_

[15:45] listen,,,,,,,,it took A Lot of strength to not ask him out right then and there. Baby steps, right?

[15:50] _so what’s your next move, romeo?_

[15:51] im going to give him the ole nikiforov charm

[15:51] _…..you're going to use your dog aren't you_

[15:51] he’s just so perfect chris….everything hurts

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Yuuri received a text from Victor later that evening just as he and Yuri had settled down on the couch to watch a movie. His phone buzzed several times by his side and when Yuuri distractedly glanced down at his phone, he saw Victor’s name flash across the screen and scrambled to pick up the phone, swiping open his text messages.

The first few messages were the promised screenshots, but then, under them, was a text message.

[17:13] _Yuri is such a good kid._

Yuuri’s chest swelled with pride and he typed out a quick response.

[17:14] Yeah, he really is. :)

Was the smiley face too much? But without it, the text seemed too dismissive. Did he respond too quickly? What if Victor thinks that Yuuri was just waiting around for his text? Victor wasn’t interested in Yuuri and so Yuuri was really just kidding himself by thinking that Victor had any other intentions, anyway.

“Papa…” Yuri whined by his side. “Pay attention to the movie! Scar is singing with the hyenas!”

Yuuri rose a single brow at Yuri. “You know, I should probably be concerned that the character you’re choosing to identify with is Scar.”

“What does identify mean?” Yuri asked, eyes wide.

Yuuri scratched the back of his neck distractedly, looking towards the ceiling as he thought through how to respond. “It means to be like something.”

“So I’m like Scar?” Yuri questioned.

Uh oh. “Well...not, exactly...well…” Yuuri responded.

“Awesome! Scar is the best!” Yuri screamed, wiggling around on the couch while Yuuri chuckled and held him in place.

“Hey, now, settle down, Yu-chan.”

Soon after that, once Yuri had cried his way through the Mufasa scene and Yuuri had pulled him into his lap and rubbed his back while reassuring him that “It’s okay, honey, it’s okay…” Yuri was most of the way to sleep, his nose pressed against Yuuri’s neck and his shoulders rising slowly with his deep breaths.

Yuuri’s phone buzzed again.

Yuuri lasted all of two seconds of attempting to ignore the phone before he couldn’t resist any longer, wiggling his arm free from Yuri’s hold and grabbing his phone, turning the brightness nearly all the way down so that it wouldn’t wake Yuri and holding the phone up to his face.

[17:36] _[Image: a photograph of Makkachin lying on a couch. Her tongue is lolling out of her mouth and she has a squeaky toy between her paws]_

[17:36] _Does Yuri like dogs?_

The sight of Makkachin made something in Yuuri’s heart ache remembering Vicchan, but Yuuri couldn’t help but to coo quietly over her. He glanced down to make sure that Yuri was still sleeping before typing out a response.

[17:37] i’m not sure if he’s ever been around dogs, before

[17:37] she looks like a sweetheart, though

Satisfied, Yuuri turned his screen off and went back to rubbing Yuri’s back soothingly. However, moments later, his phone lit up again.

[17:38] _well, I would love to introduce your kid to mine_

[17:38] _if you’re available any time soon, that is_

Yuuri stared down at his phone, locked the screen, opened it again, and stared some more. The text was definitely still there. Victor wanted to spend time with _him_ ? _Yuuri Katsuki_ ? Granted, Yuri had done most of the work of getting them to this point, but _still_.

Before he could psych himself out, Yuuri hurried to reply.

[17:39] i’m free this friday if that would work for you?

[17:40] _It’s a date, then. :)_

The noise that Yuuri made was frankly similar to the sound of a dying whale.

Yuri startled awake with a tiny, piggy snort. He looked around in confusion before glancing at Yuuri to see that his father was still staring at his phone. Yuri papped him on the cheek with his tiny hand, grumbling.

“Papa! Pay attention to the movie!”

 

 


	8. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu(u)ri and Victor finally have that date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i bet u thought u had seen the last of me
> 
> ((but for real tho literally why am i updating for the third day in a row))

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Once Yuuri had settled in bed and had gotten past the inevitable temper tantrum that Yuri had thrown when Yuuri had had to move him, he made his way to the kitchen at sat at the kitchen table. The apartment was quiet enough that he could hear footsteps passing by overhead alongside the noise of his own raspy breaths.

What the fuck.

What the _fuck_.

What had he done?

He buried his head in his hands and tried to keep his breathing steady even though his mind was twisting with the speed of his rapidfire thoughts. A date. A _date_. Victor had called it a _date_. Victor, who is saved as _Vitya_ in Yuuri’s phone and who also, coincidentally, happens to be _Victor Nikiforov_. _That_ Victor.

And for some reason, Victor wanted to talk to him. And spend time with him outside the rink. And wanted to introduce Yuuri and Yuri to his dog. His _dog_.

What the fuck was Yuuri going to do? How was he going to manage to convince Victor that he was both a pretty okay guy and a slightly-above-mediocre parent? He hadn’t been thinking when he had agreed. His inner twelve year old and outer Victor fanboy had taken possession of his thumbs and typed out a speedy agreement before Yuuri could really think it over, and now that he was, he was panicking.

Victor was perfect. _Perfect_. And his dog was, impossibly, even _more_ perfect. What was Yuuri going to _wear_? What was Yuri going to wear? Yuuri would have to find a Youtube tutorial and style Yuri’s hair more neatly than usual. What would they talk about? Skating? No. That was silly. Victor probably talked about skating all the time. But then, what else was there to talk about?

“What the fuck…” Yuuri whispered, raising his head and staring down at his hands.

Without him even realizing it, Phichit had managed to come home, close and lock the door, rifle through the fridge for a snack, and sit himself across from him all while Yuuri was busy having his mental breakdown.

“What are you ‘what the fuck’-ing?” Phichit asked around a mouthful of ice cream. Yuuri could spare the one percent of his mental power necessary to curse Phichit’s quick metabolism. There was no way Yuuri could shovel ice cream into his mouth like that and not pay dearly for it.

Wait. Ice cream?

“Aren’t you lactose intolerant?” Yuuri asked, exhaustion coloring his voice.

Phichit shrugged. “I’m not letting that stop me. My body needs to either get with the program or face the consequences because I’m not going to stop eating ice cream in this life or the next.” He paused to take another bite. “Anyways, what are you ‘what the fuck’-ing?”

Yuuri sighed and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, sliding it across the table with both hands beseechingly. Maybe Phichit could help him sort out this mess. Phichit would know how to tactfully cancel on Victor before Yuuri could manage to embarass himself too badly.

It took Phichit all of five seconds to quickly scan the text messages before fixing Yuuri with a sly grin. “So…’Vitya,’ huh?”

Yuuri groaned and let his head fall back into his palms. “What am I going to _do_?”

Phichit’s brow rose. “Uhm...go on a date with the man of your dreams? Plus a baby and puppy? I don’t see what the problem is here.”

Yuuri peeked at Phichit from behind his fingers. “He’s going to think I’m so lame…”

Phichit chuckled. “So? What if he does? After spending four days with him, I can assure you that Victor is pretty lame, himself. You’re perfect for each other!”   


“That’s not what I wanted you to say...” Yuuri groaned.

“What did you want me to say, then?” Phichit took another large bite of ice cream.

“I wanted you to say that you would help me cancel on him…” Yuuri admitted, cheeks flushing.

“Look, Yuuri, you’ve been dreaming about this since you were twelve. It’s just one date. Don’t you think twelve year old you deserves that much?” Phichit asked, voice soft. He reached over to pat Yuuri’s arm gently. “If you really want to cancel on him, fine, but don’t do it just because you’re scared. Victor is a nice guy. And he likes Yuri, too.”

“I guess you’re right…” Yuuri murmured, raising his head.

Phichit grinned smugly. “I always am.”

  
  
  


**phichit+chu**

[ image description: Yuuri and Yuri are seated on a sofa, Yuuri sitting behind Yuri so he can braid the child’s hair. Yuuri is wearing a light blue cardigan over a white tshirt with black skinny jeans and Yuri is wearing a light blue pullover with black pants.]

9,897 likes

 **phichit+chu** He keeps trying to convince me that he didn’t match him on purpose, but I smell a lie #yuurikatsuki #theyretoocute

 **VikNikDik** wow????? Suddenly I, a man, am pregnant????

 **King_Yuuri** somehow, seeing Yuuri with a kid is still so strange?? Has anyone gotten any info on where this kid came from?

 **katsukatsu** @King_Yuuri literally no one knows anything other than the fact that yuuri is coming back with a huge gymboree sponsorship

 **NickelForov** @King_Yuuri katsuki is probably just doing this for publicity. It makes sense considering he bombed last season and now somehow has a big name sponsorship and a magical kid from nowhere

 **katsuki_fc_international** @NickelForov lets not make any assumptions until we hear from Yuuri, himself.

 

 

 

 

_2013 April, Detroit, United States of America_

Yuuri had done absolutely everything that he could in order to prepare for this date. Yuri’s bangs had been scraped back into a neat half-bun on the top of his head and Yuuri had managed to wrestle him into a nice pullover and some comfortable black pants. Yuuri had dressed in an outfit that Phichit had dubbed the ‘I’m a nice guy’ outfit and had dabbed on some concealer on his dark, undereye circles in an attempt to brighten his expression a bit. Then, Yuuri had made his way to the kitchen and portioned out some pretzel sticks into a plastic baggie with a few scoops of peanut butter in a tiny, lidded, plastic ramekin. He stuffed these, an apple juice box, and a water bottle into his backpack alongside a few of Yuri’s coloring books, his phone charger, wallet, and house keys.

When that was done, and when he could avoid leaving no longer, Yuuri called Yuri’s name and urged him to hurry to the front door so that they could put his shoes on. Yuri quickly came tumbling out with Potya, his stuffed tiger, under his arm and a fist full of toy cars in his tiny hands.

“I’m ready, Papa!” Yuri announced, quickly moving towards the door where they keep their shoes.

Yuuri tutted and stopped Yuri with a look. “Honey, do we really need six toy cars? Why don’t you just pick one of them, and I can put one more in my backpack for later?”

Yuri stamped his foot and jutted his lower lip out. “But I want to show Victor my toys!”

Yuuri nodded sagely and patted Yuri’s head. “I understand, but if you take so many of them with you, you might lose one. You don’t want that to happen do you?”

“No…” Yuri pouted. He turned his gaze down towards his hands and scrutinized the cars seriously for a moment or two before running back to the living room. A few moments later, he came running back with two toy cars and Potya entow.

Yuuri grinned and held out his hand for one of the cars. Yuri stared down at them for a moment before nodding and handing Yuuri one. “This one is the coolest.” Yuri informed Yuuri, gesturing to the car he still held.

Yuuri hummed in agreement. “That’s a pretty cool car. I’m sure Victor will think it’s awesome.”

Yuri beamed up at Yuuri.

“Do you want to carry Potya, or do you want me to put her in my backpack?” Yuuri asked, gesturing to where Yuri still had Potya in a firm stranglehold.

Yuri glanced down at the tiger before handing her to Yuuri. “You can put her in your backpack, but you have to make sure her head sticks out so that she can breathe.”

“Of course, Yu-chan.”

When Potya was tucked away and Yuri was satisfied that she had enough air, Yuuri gestured for him to go get his shoes on. Yuri scrambled to shove his feet into his sneakers and when they were firmly on his feet, Yuuri kneeled down to begin tying the laces, slowly announcing every step so that he was sure Yuri was paying attention. Maybe, when they didn’t have somewhere to be, Yuuri would let Yuri try tying them, himself.

When they were ready to go, Yuuri took Yuri’s hand and called towards Phichit’s room that they were leaving, ignoring Phichit’s loud catcalls from behind his closed door. Then, they were off to the park to meet Victor and Makkachin.

The two of them had decided that the park would be the most neutral location to meet with plenty to keep both Makkachin and Yuri occupied. Thankfully, on a Friday afternoon, the park was pretty empty, leaving most of the playsets free for Yuri to climb on.

When they arrived, Yuuri quickly glanced around the playground to make sure that he hadn’t missed Victor, and then made his way to an empty bench. He grabbed Yuri by his shoulders and leveled him with an even stare.

“Now, I want you to promise me that you’ll take your time climbing and that you won’t go down the big boy slide by yourself.”

Yuri grumbled and huffed at the indignity, but eventually promised Yuuri that he would stick to the parts of the playground that are closer to the ground before scampering off to the swingset. Once Yuuri was satisfied, he sank down onto the bench and focused his attention on watching Yuri, making sure to keep a careful eye out in case Yuri decided to pull any unsafe stunts.

Thankfully, Yuri seemed pretty satisfied with just playing on the swingset like he was supposed to.

Eventually, Yuuri spotted Victor approaching in the distance, a large brown poodle attached to a leash at his side. Yuuri couldn’t help but to focus his entire attention on Makkachin, heart in his eyes. She was _beautiful_.

In his excitement, Yuuri hurried to stand and called out to Yuri. “Yu-chan! Come say hello to Victor!”

Rather than gently coming to a halt, Yuri jumped from the swingset while his swing was still shooting back and forth, sending Yuuri into a rather brief, but painful, panic until Yuuri was sure that Yuri hadn’t shattered his legs by landing so hard. “Yu-chan!” Yuuri called, aghast. “Gentle! Don’t scare me like that!”

Yuri ignored him, running towards Yuuri can pulling his toy car out of the pocket of his pullover. “Quick, Papa! I need my toys so I can show Victor!”

“Show Victor what?” Victor announced in a sing-song voice, finally reaching the bench.

“A-Ah, Yuri wanted to show you his toys…” Yuuri murmured shyly. “I’m glad you could make it. Yuri’s been very excited.”

Yuri huffed. “But you’re the one who was especially excited, Papa!” He called before turning his attention back to rooting through the backpack for his other toy car. Eventually, he unearthed it and pulled that and Potya free from the backpack.

Yuuri stuttered through a quiet denial while Yuri moved closer to Victor, holding his cars and Potya. “Look at how cool my toys are, Victor!”

However, as Yuri was moving closer with his toys held out so that Victor could inspect them, Makkachin reached out and pinched Potya’s foot between her teeth, tugging at the stuffed tiger. When Yuri felt the movement, he looked down, saw Makkachin chewing on his beloved toy, and almost instantly, he dissolved into hysterical sobs.

“No! _No_!” Yuri sobbed, pulling on Potya’s other leg as his tiny body shook with his cries. “You’re _hurting_ her! _Papa_!”

“Oh no!” Victor cried, moving in front of Makkachin to begin gently pulling Potya free from her teeth. “I’m so sorry! Makkachin always eats things that she’s not supposed to!”

Yuuri scrambled to gather Yuri into his arms while Victor wrestled the tiger from Makkachin. “It’s okay, Victor, she really didn’t mean to. Right, Yuri? Makkachin didn’t mean to hurt Potya, honey, it was just an accident.”

Yuri tucked his face against Yuuri’s neck and sobbed while Yuuri patted his back and cooed nonsense into his ear. Eventually, Victor managed to free the toy and held it out to Yuri, reaching out to pat Yuri’s back as Yuuri nudged his face from his neck.

“See?” Victor offered gently. “Potya is just fine, Yura. _Makkachin, golos_!”

At Victor’s command, Makkachin barked loudly before Victor held a hand out to her, silently commanding her to stop. “Makkachin says she’s sorry, Yura…” Victor murmured.

Yuri cautiously looked over his shoulder to see Potya safe in Victor’s hands. He reached out to take Potya while Victor moved to pick up the cars that had fallen when Makkachin had grabbed Potya.

Now that Potya was safe, Yuri seemed to forget all about the incident, wiggling in Yuuri’s arms with a grin on his face, completely ignoring the still drying tear tracks on his cheeks. “Papa, I want to meet the puppy.”

Yuuri sighed in relief and dried Yuri’s face with the corner of his sleeve before setting him down, letting Yuri cautiously approach Makkachin. Obviously sensing that she had done something she wasn’t supposed to, Makkachin made no attempts to grab at Potya a second time, staying put and letting Yuri approach her while she panted happily.

Eventually, Yuri was standing directly in front of Makkachin and reached out a hand to pat her head. Victor kneeled down next to them, gently running a hand down Makkachin’s back. “Yura, this is Makkachin. _Makkachin, pozdorovat'sya_.”

Makkachin barked and held out her paw for Yuri to cautiously take. “ _Menya zovut Yuri. Bol'she ne yesh'te Potya_.”

Victor’s eyes widened in shock. “Yuri speaks Russian?”

The back of Yuuri’s neck warmed. “Ah...it’s a kind of complicated situation, but yes, he does. Though I’m not sure how well.”

Victor nodded, his eyes still wide. “That’s okay, you don’t owe me an explanation. I was just a little surprised.” Suddenly, his tone took on a more embarrassed tone. “I’m sorry about Potya. I guess Makkachin isn’t used to there being a stuffed animal she isn’t allowed to play with. She must have thought Yuri was offering it to her.”

Yuuri waved him off. “That’s quite alright. No harm done.”

“Papa, can I play with Makkachin?” Yuri asked, turning his attention to Yuuri with bright eyes.

“I suppose that’s okay. Don’t play too rough, though, I don’t want either of you getting hurt.”

Yuri nodded and was about to race off when Victor stopped him. He reached into his back pocket and pull out a red ball. “If you throw this for her, she’ll bring it back to you, Yuri.”

Yuri grinned and grabbed the ball, running off towards the empty patch of grass near the playground with Makkachin close on his heels. When Yuuri was satisfied that Yuri wasn’t going to hurt himself, he slumped down onto the bench with a heavy sigh.

“It’s a lot more work being a dad than I thought it would be. I need to call my parents and thank them if this is what it was like with me and my sister.” Yuuri chuckled.

Victor sat next to him, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his palm. “So how did that happen, anyway? I don’t mean to pry, and you certainly don’t owe me any explanation, but Yuri is new to you life, yes?”

Yuuri turned to look at Victor, searching his eyes and finding nothing other than sincerity. It was probably silly to trust Victor when they really hadn’t known each other for long, but having followed Victor’s skating for so many years, Yuuri felt like he knew him already. Besides, keeping everything to himself for so long had been wearing on his mind for months. It would be a relief for someone else to know. “Well, like I said earlier, it’s a bit of a complicated situation. Yuri isn’t my biological child...and...well...he isn’t legally, either…”

“H-He isn’t?” Victor stuttered, turning his gaze out towards Yuri quickly and then looking back at Yuuri. “Then, well not to be rude, but what is he doing with you?”

Yuuri sighed, keeping his eyes trained on Yuri so that he wouldn’t have to see the expression on Victor’s face. “To tell you the truth, I found Yuri on a public bus a few months ago. He was all alone without proper clothes on for the weather. I looked everywhere on the bus and asked everyone I could, but his parents weren’t anywhere to be found. I took him back to my apartment because I didn’t want to just... _leave_ him there...but then, when I was trying to get him into some warmer clothes...I found…”

“What did you find?” Victor asked. Yuuri could feel the weight of his stare, but he refused to look at him.

Yuuri swallowed thickly, a sudden lump forming in his throat. “I found some identification...like his birth certificate...and...well...a request form to add a parent to his birth certificate. It was already signed by his mother. Just needed to be filled out and mailed in. I don’t think his mother is looking for him.”

“Oh…” Victor whispered, the noise tiny and quietly distressed. “Did you call the police? It’s a pretty serious offense. Abandoning your child.”

Yuuri nodded. “I tried to call, but when the officer was explaining what would happen with him...I just...I couldn’t do it. They were going to put him in emergency foster care if they couldn’t find a living relative to take him, and then he would be juggled around for who knows how long. I just, well, I wouldn’t do it to him.”

“I see…” Victor murmured. “And the form? Did you sign it, then?”

Sheepishly, Yuuri shook his head. “I haven’t yet. It just never seemed like the right time…” He paused, watching Yuri shriek with laughter as Makkachin chased him around in the grass. “I’m going to before the season starts. I just...I needed time. A lot happened so quickly and then I decided to come out of retirement. When I sign those papers, Yuri’s going to be _mine_. For good. I want to make sure I can be what he needs before I do it. I don’t want to rush into it.”

Victor reached over to gently pat Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri glanced over towards him to see a soft expression on his face. “I think Yuri’s been yours for a while. And I think you’re already exactly what he needs, just the way you are. I’ve only been here for a few days, but it's easy to see how much you care for him.”

Yuuri fought down the tears threatening to fill his eyes and nodded slowly. “Thank you, Victor...it means a lot to hear that. Sometimes I just feel like I’m not doing enough, you know?” He chuckled with embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “S-Sorry. That was sort of a lot of unload on you so suddenly.”

Victor waved him off. “I’m glad to listen to your troubles whenever you need, Yuuri. I know sometimes I can seem a little scatterbrained, but I promise I’m a good listener.”

Yuuri’s heart warmed and he could feel heat flooding his cheeks. He never thought that this was how his date with Victor would go, but he was glad that it had. It felt good to vent to Victor and having done so, Yuuri could feel most of his nerves regarding spending time with Victor flee his mind.

“Papa!” Yuri called, running up to Yuuri with flushed cheeks and tiny beads of sweat dotting his forehead. “I’m hungry!”   


Yuuri turned to the backpack and rooted around for the small, travel sized packet of wet wipes that he had in the front pocket. He pulled one free and held Yuri’s chin in place while he wiped down the child’s face, blotting away the sweat, before moving to wipe Yuri’s hands down, as well.

“I have the pretzels and peanut butter, Yu-chan.” Yuuri announced while he started digging in the backpack for the snacks that he packed for Yuri.

Yuri stamped his feet and pouted. “I want chicken nuggets!” He announced firmly.

Yuuri stopped digging and rose his brow silently at Yuri until the child stopped stomping, his pout still firmly in place. “I don’t have chicken nuggets, Yu-chan, we packed pretzels and peanut butter, remember?”

“But I really _want_ chicken nuggets, Papa! I’ve been a good boy and _everything_!” Yuri’s eyes were beginning to take on a wet sheen and Yuuri quickly tried to come up with a solution that would avoid a full blown meltdown.

“I know of a restaurant nearby that should have chicken nuggets of some sort?” Victor offered winningly. “We could walk over now, if you wanted? My treat, of course.”

“Oh, Victor, I couldn’t let you do that…” Yuuri murmured while patting Yuri’s back reassuringly.

“ _Papa_ …” Yuri whined.

“It’s no trouble, at all! I have to make sure and eat my fill of American food before Yakov ships me back to Russia, anyway. Really.” Victor insisted.

Yuuri sighed guiltily. “Well...if you insist...I’m sorry that Yuri is so upset. He didn’t eat all of his breakfast this morning, so he must be pretty hungry.” Yuuri turned his attention to Yuri, then. “We’re going to get chicken nuggets, but I expect you to eat some vegetables, too. And I want you to thank Victor for being so nice, do you hear me?”

Yuri’s pout quickly flipped into an excited smile and he launched himself at Victor, wrapping his arms around the man’s legs. “Nuggets! Nuggets! Nuggets!” He cried while jumping in place.

Victor grinned before leaning down to scoop Yuri up, glancing over towards Yuuri to make sure that this was okay, before planting Yuri on his shoulders. Yuri shrieked with excitement, pumping his fists in the air happily.

Yuuri conceded his loss and moved to pack everything away in his backpack, making sure that Potya could breathe, before clipping Makkachin’s leash onto her collar and turning towards Victor. “Alright, where to?”

 

 

 

 

**v-nikiforov**

[ image description: Yuri and Yuuri are seated at a table outside, the sun high in the sky. Yuri’s mouth is covered in barbecue sauce while Yuuri holds out a fork holding a piece of broccoli up to Yuri with an exasperated look on his face. Yuri has a fried chicken strip in both hands while Makkachin’s head is seen poking out from the edge of the table, eyes trained on Yuri’s hands.]

11.6k likes

 **v-nikiforov** I would say I’m sorry for any part that I played in this chaos, but really, I’m not ;) #yuurikatsuki #numberonedad

 **RealVictor** wait is this for real

 **King_Yuuri** yuuri is about to hop on some ~namebrand~ dick

 **chistophe-gc** victor help the poor boy out

 **v-nikiforov** @christophe-gc i would but yuuri’s son is singing the bubble guppies theme song at the top of his lungs and i can’t interfere with performance art

 

 


	9. Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor and Yuuri clear the air on their feelings and Phichit willingly wrecks his digestive system

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

The day after the date, Yuuri expected for things to be at least moderately awkward. And Yuuri had made avoiding awkward situations an artform. It took the combined forces of Phichit threatening to pour freezing water all over him and Yuri’s shrieking to even convince Yuuri to leave his bed that morning. His body was so viscerally rejecting the thought of having to face Victor that he could practically feel his body breaking out into a rash.

“Hives, Phichit.” Yuuri asserted. “You’re causing me to break out into hives.”

Phichit sighed and wiped the stray spots of oatmeal from Yuri’s face with a napkin. “You’re not having an allergic reaction because you’re afraid of confrontation.”

“But I _am_ …” Yuuri moaned, dropping his head into his hands.

“Look, Yuuri. You’re going to go to the rink, skate your booty off, and seduce Victor all in one fell swoop.” Phichit assured, patting Yuuri’s head. “And after that, you’ll get gay married, give Yuri a daddy, and get offered, like, a million sponsorship deals all while getting some Nikiforov dick on the side.”

“Don’t say that in front of Yuri!” Yuuri hissed suddenly, turning wide eyes towards where Yuri was effectively smashing his oatmeal all around his bowl. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be paying attention. “And besides, there isn’t any seduction that’s going to be happening when Victor gets a load of all my hives.” He held out his arm for Phichit’s inspection. “ _Hives_ , Phichit.”

Phichit rose a perfectly manicured eyebrow at Yuuri’s perfectly smooth arm. “Who knows, maybe Victor will volunteer to nurse you back to health. With his dick.”

“ _Phichit_!” Yuuri shrieked, appalled. “There is a _child_ present.”

At this declaration, Yuri suddenly grumbled. “I’m not a baby, Papa!”

Yuuri forced his face into a cheery smile. “Of course not, Yu-chan! You’re a big boy and everything!”

“When are we going to go see Old Man Victor?” Yuri suddenly asked. “I’m finished with my oatmeal.”

Yuuri groaned. “Yu-chan, I’ve told you this already: we do not refer to Victor as ‘Old Man Victor.’ And you promised me three big bites and I only saw two tiny ones.”

“But his hair is all gray like an old man!” Yuri defended. “And I can’t take big bites because I have tiny teeth!”

Yuuri rose his brow. “I thought you said you weren’t a baby?”

“I’m not a baby, my big boy teeth just haven’t growed in yet!”

“‘Grown,’ Yuri.” Yuuri sighed. “Alright, I guess I can’t put this off anymore. Let’s get moving.”

Yuuri leaned down and grabbed the strap of his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before grabbing his skating bag. He had a tupperware container with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich packed away for Yuri alongside some other snacks since today was meant to be a longer day at the rink. Normally, Yuuri would be splitting the time at the rink with gym time, but he really needed to get a move on with figuring out the components of his programs for next season.

“Alright, Yu-chan. Can you be a big boy and put your shoes on?” Yuuri asked.

Yuri nodded and jumped down from the table, racing for the door before Yuuri ordered him to put his bowl in the sink. Once that was completed, Yuri shoved his feet into his sneakers and bent down to carefully draw the laces into sloppy bows. Though they were uneven, they seemed to be tight enough, so Yuuri let the be, offering his hand out of a high five.

“Awesome job, honey!” Yuuri declared. “I couldn’t have tied them better myself!

Yuri grinned and bounced in place with excitement. “We gotta hurry so we can go see Victor!”

Yuuri glanced over his shoulder towards Phichit’s room. “Phich! Are you ready to go?”

“Coming!” Phichit shouted, racing out of his room with his skating bag slung across his chest. “Sorry, Arthur wouldn’t eat this morning, so I was trying to get him to eat one more time.”

“Can we put Arthur in his hamster ball when we get home?” Yuri begged, standing of his tip toes.

Phichit pretended to consider Yuri’s request. “Okay, but only if you’re on your best behavior while your dad is skating. Deal?”

“Deal! But you have to pinky swear or else it's not really a deal.” Yuri informed his solemnly, holding out his tiny pinky for Phichit to clasp.

Phichit nodded seriously, wrapping his pinky around Yuri’s. “Of course!”

  
  
  


**Vitya**

[19:13] _I know I literally just walked you home, but I just wanted to tell you that spend time with you and Yuri was really fun!_

[19:14] _I hope you don’t mind me texting you!_

[19:14] _though I suppose its too late for that if you do…_

[19:20] I had a really fun time, too! Thank you again for covering dinner, you didn’t have to do that.

[19:21] And you can text me whenever you want.

[19:22] _Well in that case…_

[19:22] _[image]_

[19:23] _look at the dog that I saw on my way back to my apartment!! She knew how to shake paws and everything!_

[19:24] Wow!! Such a smart and perfect dog!!

[19:24] _but not as smart and perfect as makka )))))_

[19:25] obviously :)

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Victor felt like he was floating. Like his heart had just been pumped full of helium and left to lift him straight into the stratosphere. In fact, his heart was so full of happiness, just beginning to blossom under his skin like a springtime flower, that he couldn’t help but to shove his feet into his skates as quickly as possible and extract some of those overwhelming feelings by carving them into the ice.

“You seem oddly focused today, Vitya…” Mila observed, skating beside him as he drifted into a lazy spin. “Could it be that you’ve finally made some progress with your massive crush on Yuuri?”

Victor clutched the fabric over his heart dramatically. “Oh, Mila. He’s just so _perfect_ …And he _adores_ Makkachin. And he’s such a good dad. And he’s so _beautiful_.”

“Ah, yes, I see…” Mila murmured before suddenly craning her neck in Georgi’s direction. “Gosha, you owe me some money. Victor busted out some moves on that kid, after all!”

Georgi stopped skating to cross his arms dramatically over his chest. “Victor’s heart is still firmly ensnared by the true foe to love: pining. True love has yet to overcome this more treacherous foe, Mila!”

“Besides, Yuuri is definitely older than you, Mila…” Victor offered.

Mila huffed and skated away. “Oh, go back to your romance novels, Gosha. I won and you know it!”   


“None of you are going to win _anything_ if you don’t get back to work!” Yakov grumbled from where he stood at center ice. “Vitya! Stop being such a distraction or I’ll have you pulling suicide sprints until you’ve worn the ice down to nothing!”

“But _Yakov_ , I might be _in love_!” Victor whined.

“The only thing I need you to be in love with, is your position as reigning world champion!” Yakov ran a hand down his face, dragging it roughly through the sparse, grey whiskers on his chin. “Exhausting! You’re all so exhausting! I had a full head of hair before all of you! It was thick like an oak! Now, I am a tired old man!”

“But Yakov,” Victor began, voice matter-of-fact. “Look on the bright side: your bald head makes you much more aerodynamic!”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to mock my lack of hair!” Yakov bellowed. “Suicides! Now!”

Victor winced and hurried to skate away, cursing his lack of filter.

( “I don’t get it…” Whispered Georgi.

“It’s because Victor’s hair is thinning and he has a five-head so, really, he’s a third of the way to being bald, himself…” Mila whisper under her breath.

Victor somehow managed to still hear her over the sound of his skates skidding across the ice. “Mila! How rude! I have a perfectly proportional forehead!” He lifted a hand to delicately pat at his hairline. “It doesn’t look that bad...Right?”

“Mila! Georgi! Suicides! Now!”)

  
  


 

**phichit+chu**

[ video description: Yuuri is carrying his skating bag, his backpack in one arm while Yuri dangles from his back, Yuuri’s free arm cradling his legs so that he doesn’t fall. Yuuri’s steps are completely even and he seems to be completely unaffected by all the weight.

Phichit: Yuuri isn’t all of that heavy?

Yuuri, glancing over his shoulder with furrowed brows: ...no...? Is it...supposed to be?]

12.9k likes

 **phichit+chu** I think my roommate might be an android sent to earth to confuse me at every turn #yuurikatsuki #how #myarmsarelimpnoodles

 **Phichit_chulanot_fan** okay listen,,,,i will stand phichit until the day i die but Hot Damn

 **katsukatsu** *praying emoji* now this is the content that we deserve

 **quadsuki** I want him to pick me up and launch me into the sun

 **v-nikiforov** wow! So strong!

 **NickelForov** @v-nikiforov victor????? Is that really you??? I know it is, but like, really????

 

 

 

 

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

They reach the rink at nearly the same time that Celestino does, their coach pausing by the door and waving as he waited for them to catch up.

“Boys! Good morning! I hope you’re ready to do some good work today!” He cheered.

“I colored you a picture last night, Coach Celestino!” Yuri hollered before either Phichit or Yuuri could respond to Celestino’s greeting.

“Yuri, it isn’t polite to ignore someone’s greeting…” Yuuri gently reminded him.

Celestino waved Yuuri off. “That’s quite alright, Yuuri! Did you bring the picture with you, Yuri? I would love to see it!” He enthused.

Yuri nodded, sliding down from Yuuri’s back after some wiggling and yanking at the strap before Yuuri slid it off his arm and unzipped it, letting Yuri dig through the contents until he unearthed his drawing. With as much gusto as a four year old could muster, Yuri presented Celestino with his drawing.

Celestino carefully took the paper and unfolded it, eyes scanning the page as he attempted to make some sense out of the mass of scribbles that Yuri had doodled on the page in a variety of crayons.

Yuri quickly moved to Celestino’s side, pointing at various groupings of scribbles. “This is you! And this is me, skating! And this is Papa! And we all have gold medals because we won!”

Celestino let out a loud, boisterous laugh, reaching over to ruffle Yuri’s hair, dislodging a few strands from his ponytail. “You’ve got quite the artist on your hands, Yuuri! And we’ll have to get him on the ice as soon as possible! This kid has a gold medal to win!”

“Papa has to win one first because he’s the oldest!” Yuri grinned.

“Of course, of course…” Celestino agreed before straightening from where he could crouch closer to Yuri. “Now! Let’s get this practice going!”

They entered the rink to see...the entire Russian team doing suicides while Yakov grumbled out vague threats. Yuuri was pretty sure he heard the term ‘Bratva’ thrown around a few times, but he could have just misunderstood Yakov’s grumbled Russian. Hopefully.

“I wonder what they must have done to bring this upon themselves…” Celestino murmured with a wince.

Phichit whipped out his phone, Yuuri assumed to snap some pictures. “Wow...Coach Yakov sure is scary…”

Yuuri nodded in agreement before distractedly nudging Yuri towards a bench, eyes still trained on the ice. How long had they been at it for the ice to look like _that_ …?

“Ten minutes!” Yakov bellowed. “Ten minutes and then I want you all landing jumps like the fate of your country depends on it!”

Apparently needing no further convincing, all three skaters sped for the boards, exiting the ice and slapping on blade guards as quickly as they could. Victor stumbled towards the bench where Yuri was sitting, panting as he dabbed his damp forehead with the back of his wrist.

“Good morning, Yura! Yuuri!” Victor wheezed.

“Good morning. Papa said I can’t call you an old man, anymore, but you have gray hair and you can’t breathe right, so you have to be old!”

“Yuri!” Yuuri shrieked, aghast, face going pale. “What did we talk about this morning?”

“But I didn’t ignore his greeting!” Yuri whined, stamping his feet.

“No,” Yuuri groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “The other thing.”

“But Papa! He has _gray hair_!” Yuri cried.

“Yuri, you’re looking at a time out when we get home if you don’t stop being so rude to Victor.” Yuuri informed him calmly.

Yuri’s eyes went wide before suddenly, they filled with tears, bottom lip trembling. “I-I’m sorry, Victor…” Yuri mumbled before he was overtaken by hiccups as the tears fell down his trembling cheeks.

Victor reached over to pat his back reassuringly. “It’s okay, Yura. I forgive you. Did you know that I’ve had gray hair since I was a little baby?” He gestured towards his hair with an easy smile.

Yuri scrubbed at his face with closed fists. “So you’re not an old man?”

Victor chuckled though Yuuri could see the wince he hid. “I certainly hope not! See? All is forgiven. No harm done.”

Once Yuri was sure that Victor wasn’t angry with him, he turned his attention back to Yuuri, eyes flooding with tears, once more. “I’m s-sorry, Papa. I didn’t mean to be a bad kid…”

Yuuri sighed and knelt down so he and Yuri were eye level. He reached out to wipe Yuri’s cheeks free of tears with his sleeve. “You’re not a bad kid, Yuri. Sometimes we just need to make sure that what we say won’t hurt someone’s feelings before we say it. Okay?”

Yuri nodded. “No time out?”

Yuuri thought it over for a moment before nodding. “No time out, but I don’t want to hear you call Victor an old man, again.”

Yuri nodded. Once he was sure that all was forgiven, it was like the entire altercation had never happened. He quickly turned his sights on Yuuri’s backpack and made grabby hands. “I want a snack, Papa!”

“I told you to finish your oatmeal, Yu-chan.” Yuuri murmured as he dug through the bag for the bag of apple slices that he had thrown into it. He located the bag and pulled Yuri’s water bottle free from the side pocket, as well, handing both of them over to the child. “Alright, I need to stretch and get my skates on. Can you be a good boy while I skate?”

Yuri nodded, barely paying attention as he ripped open the plastic bag and shoved a fistful of apple’s into his mouth all at once.

Yuuri shook his head in amused exasperation and began to move through his stretches, pulling on his skates when he was done. By the time he was ready to hit the ice, Victor was already launching himself into a jump.

Surprisingly, being around Victor wasn’t awkward, at all. Yuuri had only been on a few dates before in his life, usually sticking to casual hookups, but none of the first dates he had ever been on had ever managed to not lead to awkward interactions afterwards that left Yuuri questioning where he stood with the other person. But with Victor, bumping hips or joking about ridiculous step sequences, or laughing about something funny that Yuri had done the other day was as easy as breathing. Sure, yesterday hadn’t been a date in the most traditional sense, but it was still _something_ , and Yuuri could feel his heart fluttering at the thought of what the something could be.

A small part of him was confused by the goofy man who shared the ice with him. It was difficult to reconcile the image of Victor Nikiforov that Yuuri had always had in his head. And while that image was still exciting and inspired Yuuri in so many ways, a larger part of him was beginning to understand that Victor Nikiforov and ‘Vitya’ might be two different people.

“Ayo, Romeo!” Phichit called from the other end of the rink. “Yuri needs to go potty so you gotta take him to the bathroom!”

Yuuri groaned and shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

Way to spoil the romance, Phichit.

 

 

 

 

**Vitya**

[17:21] _I saw this dog when I was walking Makka today and I thought you would appreciate her_

[17:22] _[image]_

[17:25] omg??? This dog is perfect???

[17:25] _even more perfect than makka? Yuuri, i’m hurt ((((_

[17:26] of course not??? No dog could ever be more perfect than makka

[17:27] _changing topics here, but would it be okay if I stopped by after practice? I found the most incredible toy racetrack for yuri and I wanted to stop by to put it together for him_

[17:29] ahhh Victor, you’re too kind! Really, you don’t have to bring Yuri a gift to come over

[17:29] _Is that an open invitation?_

[17:30] I guess it is :)

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Holy shit.

Holy _shit_.

Victor Nikiforov was going to be inside of their tiny, cramped apartment and Yuuri had been the dumbass to invite him.

“Holy shit…” Yuuri whispered, staring down at the pot of Spongebob shaped noodles he was currently boiling for mac and cheese.

Thankfully, Yuuri had managed to carefully remove his rather vast poster collection from the walls, but still! And what was he thinking? Attempting to serve Victor Spongebob mac and cheese? Did he even know what Spongebob _was_ ? _Dear god_ , was Yuuri attracted to someone who didn’t know what Spongebob was? Yuuri was from a rural town in Japan, and even _he_ knew what Spongebob was. What if Victor hated cheese? What if Victor didn’t like the chicken thighs Yuuri had baking in the oven? What if Victor thought Yuuri didn’t feed Yuri a healthy diet? Oh, _fuck_ , Yuri had eaten chicken nuggets just the other day with Victor and now Yuuri was giving him mac and cheese! Nice going, Yuuri. Dad of the year over here.

Throughout the course of this mental breakdown, Phichit had managed to plug his laptop into the hdmi cable in the living room, set up a stream of Sailor Moon for Yuri, and slide up behind Yuuri to glance over his shoulder and into the pot of noodles.

“What are you ‘holy shit’-ing?” Phichit asked casually. “Hey, can you separate some noodles off for me? I’m going to put some of the leftover curry sauce on them. Because. You know. Dairy.”

“It’s not even real cheese…” Yuuri whispered, gesturing towards the Kraft box on the counter, voice colored with horror. “Victor Nikiforov is going to be here and I’m not even serving him real cheese…”

“As the token lactose intolerant member of this household, I fail to see how this is a problem.”

“He’s probably used to filet mignon and lobster tail for every meal!” Yuuri cried.

Phichit tutted, spinning Yuuri around and wagging a finger in his face. “One: that would be incredibly boring to eat everyday. Two: Victor Nikiforov is a bachelor who lives alone with his dog. He probably sits in the dark eating spoonfuls of peanut butter and spraying whipped cream into his mouth directly from the can.”

Yuuri glanced over his shoulder at the noodles. “But...the _cheese_ …”

“Yuuri, I can promise you that Victor will love it if only because you slaved over the stove, yourself.”

Suddenly, Yuuri could hear three swift knocks on the front door. Phichit hip bumped him towards the door, effectively shooing him. “Go on, Martha Stewart, I can handle pouring some cheese dust and almond milk into the noodles.”

“The chicken needs to come out in ten minutes…” Yuuri murmured distractedly while shuffling towards the door.

After a moment or two of deep breathing to center himself, Yuuri carefully unlocked the door and eased it open to reveal Victor’s beaming face, a huge box tucked under his arm and a plastic back hanging from the crook of his elbow.

“Yuuri!” Victor greeted happily. “Thank you for inviting me! I brought cookies!”

“A-Ah, thank you so much, Victor! That’s very kind of you!” Yuuri answered shyly, opening the door wider so that Victor could enter, taking his coat from him and hanging it on the rank just behind the door. Yuuri took the bag holding the cookies and headed into the kitchen to put them on the kitchen table, Victor following behind him.

“It smells delicious in here!” Victor announced, glancing towards the stove excitedly.

“Yuuri made Spongebob mac and cheese!” Phichit grinned, glancing over his shoulder at Victor.

Victor’s smile curled into a heart as he enthused that “Oh, I’ve seen that show before! The one with the talking sponge, yes? Ah...I can’t remember the last time I had a home cooked meal! How exciting!”

Phichit threw a look towards Yuuri that was just screaming “I told you so,” but Yuuri vehemently ignored him. “Yuri’s in the living room if you want to get a headstart on the racetrack? I’m sure he’ll be very excited. Thank you, again, Victor, you really shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Honestly!”

They both headed to the living room and were nearly bowled over by Yuri flinging his tiny body at Victor’s legs. “Victor! Did you bring me a present?!”

“Yuri!” Yuuri whined. “Greet Victor properly!”  


“Oh. Sorry. Hi.” He waited all of two seconds. “Can I have my present, now?”

Yuuri winced, but thankfully Victor only chuckled at Yuri’s obvious excitement. “We have to put it together, first, but then after that, it's all yours!”

“This is going to be the coolest racetrack _ever_!” Yuri shrieked with eyes that practically sparkled with joy. Yuuri could feel all of the tension leaving his body at the sight and he turned his attention to the box in Victor’s hands, determined to set the toy up as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, even though the racetrack came in hundreds of tiny pieces that Yuuri couldn’t ever hope to make sense of, Victor turned out to be surprisingly skilled at organizing the pieces and then quickly assembling them. Yuuri wondered if maybe, Victor did puzzles in his spare time.

After the racetrack was assembled, they could hardly tear Yuri away from it long enough to eat a few bites of his dinner before he was back at it, shooting his cars down the track with much more speed than what should have been possible. Yuuri made quick work of cleaning up the dishes with Victor’s help and before long, the whole the was done. All that worrying for something that turned out to feel so natural that Yuuri hardly even noticed that Victor was _Victor Nikiforov_ , at all.

Victor Nikiforov was standing in Yuuri’s shitty apartment and somehow, it didn’t feel weird at all.

“Well...I’m just going to take these and...go in here…” Phichit announced before grabbing a few of the chocolate-chip-definitely-full-of-lactose-cookies and making his way directly for the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind himself.

“Phichit!” Yuuri groaned. “You’re going to ruin your digestive system if you keep eating dairy!”

“This is the hill I will die on!” Phichit called back from behind the closed door. A moment later, Yuuri could hear the strains of some television show playing from behind the door, mostly likely from Phichit’s phone.

Victor chuckled and gestured towards the front door with his thumb. “I’ll take that as my sign to start heading out.”

Yuuri sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe I have not only one but two children living in this apartment.”

Victor smiled easily. “But you’re a good dad, so I’m sure you can handle it.”

Yuuri flushed to his ears, heart thrumming in his chest. “A-Ah, thank you, Victor…”

“...Vitya…”

“What was that?”

“Well...I would like it a lot if...you called me Vitya...We use nicknames in Russia for people we’re close to…” Victor’s cheeks were tinted a light pink as he stuttered out his request.

“O-Oh...well...then, thank you...Vitya…” Yuuri murmured, fidgeting nervously. He felt like he was on the cusp of something huge. Something that was flooding his system and soon, would completely overflow.

“Listen, Yuuri--”

“V-Vitya, I--”

Victor’s flush grew darker. “Oh, you go first, Yuuri.”

“Oh no, no. You first, Vitya, I interrupted you.” Yuuri winced, closing his eyes tightly if only to take comfort in the darkness for a moment or two before he opened his eyes once more and turned his gaze up to meet Victor’s.

Victor’s eyes were determined and he seemed to steel himself for whatever it was that he was about to say. “Yuuri...I hope that I’m not being obtuse...And I know that we’ve only known each other for a few days, but I don’t want our time to run out before I get the chance to tell you that I...well I care for you.”

“Y-Yeah…?” Yuuri asked quietly. “It doesn’t bother you that I have a kid? Or that I’m not that great of a skater? Or that I live in such a small apartment?”

Victor’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Of course not! Yuri is wonderful! And Yuuri, you’re a _fantastic_ skater! And I happen to _like_ your apartment. It’s so cozy and warm…”

Yuuri glanced away, heart skipping a beat. “You’re just saying that…”

“No, I’m not!” Victor sighed, frustrated. “Look, Yuuri, you had a bad day at Sochi. And you had a bad day at Nationals. But you had some really good days to even _get_ to the Grand Prix. You are one of the top six skaters in the _world_. You’re even more than a fantastic skater, Yuuri, you’re one of the _best_. And like it or not, I think I have feelings for you and I know that this is too soon but I’m telling you, anyways!”

Yuuri could feel his eyes beginning to sting with the beginnings of tears, but he bit them back. “Y-Yeah?” He asked wobbly.

“Yeah.” Victor nodded, sure.

“Well…” Yuuri hesitated slightly. “Well, good. Because...Well, I think I have feelings for you too…” The tail end of the statement was spoken so quietly that Yuuri was sure that Victor couldn’t have heard it, but he couldn’t muster up the strength to repeat himself.

Victor’s blush by this point had spead all the way to the tips of his ears and his eyes were sparkling so vividly that Yuuri was convinced they would outshine the stars. “Y-Yeah?”

Yuuri nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

“Then...I hope it’s okay if I do this…” Victor whispered.

And then, he was threading his fingers through Yuuri’s dark, coarse hair and resting his thumbs on either side of Yuuri’s jaw, tugging him close enough that their noses brushed. He paused here, eyes scanning Yuuri’s. Checking that Yuuri was okay with what he was doing. Waiting for Yuuri to cross that final bit of distance that separated them. Waiting for Yuuri to meet him where he was.

And Yuuri, somehow, managed to do it. He lifted his shaky hands to Victor’s wrists, clasping them in both of his hands until their faces were encaged in a tangle of arms and Yuuri had no choice but to move forward, eyes sliding closed and chapped lips brushing against Victor’s in a movement that was so hesitant that it felt like butterflies fluttering on his mouth. The air was positively still between them, and Yuuri couldn’t hear beyond the white noise echoing in his ears, and that could hardly even count as a kiss, it was so brief, but they’re both smiling. Wide, toothy things.

And before Yuuri could muster up presence of mind enough to spiral in the way that he knew he would as soon as Victor had left, Victor leaned in and pressed their lips together again, this time with unhesitating certainty.

“Ew!” A sudden voice shrieked. “Papa, why are you kissing Victor! That’s gross!” Yuri exclaimed, causing Victor and Yuuri to rip apart with such speed that they might as well have been magnetically repulsed.

“ _What_?!” Comes a high pitched voice from the bathroom. Suddenly, the door was all but kicked down as Phichit ducked his head out, taking in the situation with quick eyes. “I knew you could do it, Romeo!”

Victor tilted his head back and thunked it on the wall he was leaning against with a sheepish grin. “Well...I guess I should head out, after all…?”

Yuuri huffed. “And leave me to the wolves?” A sigh and his shoulders slumped. “You’re right, we have practice tomorrow morning…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Phichit. Goodnight, Yuri!” Victor cheered before turning towards the front door and beginning to gather his shoes and coat.

He silently tugged his shoes on and pushed his arms into the sleeves of his coat and Yuuri couldn’t help but to be disappointed that Victor was leaving before they could really sit down to talk about everything, but it was getting late and Yuri needed to be put to bed, soon.

Victor stood and moved to let himself out, unlocking and swinging the door open. Yuuri was about to open his mouth to let loose the most pitifully sad goodbye in the history of goodbyes, when Victor suddenly turned around, eyes bright, and swooped down to press a kiss to either of Yuuri’s still-reddened cheeks and then, finally, a kiss to his lips.

“I’ll see you tomorrow…” Victor murmured against Yuuri’s lips before straightening once more and turning to leave, shutting the door behind himself.

  
“Holy shit…” Yuuri murmured, lifting a shaking hand to his lips. They were warm. “Holy _shit_.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall,,,,,i worked on this chapter for hours but,,,,its finally here,,,,the Romance
> 
> As always, I've really appreciated everyone who has left me a comment on this fic! It really brightens my day to read your thoughts on the chapters so far and make writing this fic so much fun, so thank you!!


	10. Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor work through the implications of their relationships with others before working them out together

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Victor could clearly separate his life experiences into precisely two categories: events which occurred before he had kissed Yuuri, and events that has occurred after he had kissed Yuuri. The second category had noticeably fewer events in it, but they were all so incredibly vivid that they left everything that had happened prior pretty dull in comparison.

It was too soon to say that he was really in love, but he could feel it bubbling beneath his skin and it would only take the right words said at the right time to tip the scales. Yuuri’s kiss had struck the flint of Victor’s heart and now, he was _burning_.

Makkachin was waiting by the door when he eventually shouldered his way inside. In the other rooms of the apartment, Mila, Yakov, and Georgi were already sleeping, no doubt in preparation for their early morning practice the next day. Victor was too wound up to even think of sleep and so he guided Makkachin to the sofa, pressed his face to her fur, and told her all about everything that had happened at Yuuri’s apartment.

Eventually, just as he was about to tell her about the kiss that had so thoroughly dismantled Victor’s entire worldview, Victor heard a door slide open.

“Makkachin isn’t supposed to be on the sofa, you know.” Georgi called out sleepily, scratching at the taunt skin of his stomach while his jaw cracked with the force of his yawn. “Did you have a good night with Yuuri?”

Victor ran a hand through Makkachin’s fur. “Well, I hope you won’t tell Yakov that she was on the furniture. And I did. I had a wonderful time.” He could practically feel the goofy tone of his voice, mouth curving into a lovestruck smile.

“That’s a good look on you, Vitya” Georgi grinned, coming closer to sit next to Victor on the sofa, combing through Makkachin’s fur with a hand while she rolled into a more comfortable position sprawled across their laps.

Victor’s brows furrowed. “What is, Gosha?”

“Love, of course.” Georgi’s smile took on a softer look. “I’ve always wanted that for you, you know. You deserve it more than most, mostly because you’ve always had so much of it to give.”

Victor could feel the flush creeping up his ears. “A-Ah, it's too early to call it love, really. I know I joke around an exaggerate at practice, but Yuuri and I hardly know each other, at the end of the day. We’re just starting out.”

Georgi nodded sagely. “Falling in love is one of the best parts of being in love! How exciting. I’m happy for you, really, Vitya.” A sigh. “I remember when things used to feel that way with Anya. Now we hardly even speak to each other. I doubt we’re meant to last, but I can’t help but to hope that things will be better…”

Victor reached over and patted Georgi’s shoulder. “Things will work out for you, somehow, Gosha.” He chuckled. “You think _I_ deserve love, but _you_ deserve it even more, you big softie.”

Georgi sniffed, sticking his nose in the air. “I am a connoisseur of _true_ romance.” A pause. “I know it's silly, but I want to dedicate my programs this year to her. A last ditch effort, I guess.”

“I don’t think that’s silly, Gosha. Skating for someone else is the best kind of skating that you can do.”

“And who will you skate for this season? Yuuri?”

Victor rubbed at his jaw in contemplation. “Maybe...We’ll see what I can come up with, shall we?”

  
  
  


**phichit+chu**

[ image description: Yuri is sitting on a couch wrapped in so many blankets that you can only see his eyes, and a single tuft of blonde hair]

14.2k likes

 **phichit+chu** he won’t come out until Team Rocket leaves Pikachu alone. Who’s going to tell him? #pokemon #poorkid

 **quadsuki** okay,,,,but he’s so cute (also rip you tiny child)

 **chuchufan** phichit pls post a selfie

 **katsukifan12** i will protect this child with my life

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

“ _Yuuri_ …!” Phichit called, banging on Yuuri’s bedroom door, once more. “I’m sorry I ruined your romantic moment, but I was overcome with _emotion_! You kissed the man who has been plastered all over our living room since we moved in together! Can you blame me for being excited, as your _best friend who loves you very much_. Now come out, please!”

“No!” Yuuri called out from behind the door.

Yuri slapped his tiny fists on the door. “Papa come out!”

“No!” Yuuri called, once more, but this time softer. “I’ll be out when I’m finished having an emotional breakdown, Yu-chan!”  
  
“What’s an ‘emotional breakdown’?” Yuri asked with confusion clear in his voice.

“Yu-uri!” Phichit whined. “You know what we’ve said about having emotional breakdowns on your own!”  


It was quiet for a moment or two before finally, the door cracked open a bit. Yuuri’s face was pale, hair sticking out in every direction as if he had been pulling it furiously. His pupils were dilated so that they looked almost black, rather than their normal cinnamon hue. “What if he really doesn’t like me, Phich…?” He asked, voice quivering and lips bitten raw.

Phichit wanted terribly to bang his head on the door in frustration, but he managed to restrain himself. He never wanted Yuuri to feel like what he was feeling was silly, no matter _how_ ridiculous it was. “Yuuri, Victor is totally into you. He’s been practically glued to your side since he first got to Detroit.”

“I know that…” Yuuri whispered. “It’s just...well…”

“Well what?” Phichit asked gently.

“It’s just that things are never this easy for me. And things have just been...working out lately. Celestino told me today that he got a call from another children’s brand and they want to sponsor me. I’m going to have enough money to get Yuri everything he needs and even send some back home to my parents. And then the man of my dreams, who I’ve obsessed over since I was twelve, swoops in and suddenly wants to kiss me and be with me and buys presents for my kid. Something has to give, eventually. I’m not this lucky.”

“One day, when you and Victor have been married for, like, thirty years, I’m going to tell him that you locked yourself in your room for almost an hour after he kissed you because you thought _you_ were the lucky one.” Phichit sighed and clasped both of Yuuri’s shoulders in his hands. “Yuuri, _Victor_ is the lucky one, here. You’re a _wonderful_ person and it’s a gift that I even get to be in your life. And you deserve everything good that’s happened to you so far. Don’t forget that.”

Yuuri’s head thunked against his door frame and his sigh was heavy, lifting his shoulders before they descended, once more. “I know that...well, I don’t, but I _try_ to know that most of the time. It just gets hard sometimes. Especially with Victor and everything. He’s been my goal for so long that it just seems unreal sometimes that he’s _here_ , you know?”

“I get it,” Phichit assured him. “But if you can’t believe in yourself, then just believe that _I_ believe in you.”

“Thanks, Phich…” Yuuri whispered, smiling wobbly.

“Can we have bath time now?” Yuri asked from where he had been standing patiently off to the side. “I want to watch more cartoons but Phichit says smelly boys can’t sit on the couch.”

Yuuri scoffed and finally cracked his door open wide enough that he could make his way past, scooping Yuri up and heading to the bathroom. “Well, you tell Phichit that he’s sat on that couch more times to count and he’s plenty smelly.”

“Hey! And to think I just opened my heart to you!” Phichit sniffed, clutching his heart dramatically. “I can braid his hair when you’re done, if you want.”

Yuuri waved him off. “Nah, I’ve got it from here. Thanks again, Phichi.”

“I accept payment in the form of clean dishes.”

Yuuri groaned but nodded before closing the bathroom door behind him. He sat Yuri down on the closed toilet seat before turning to the bathtub, running the water until it was warm and plugging the tub.

“Bubbles or no bubbles?” Yuuri asked over his shoulder, already knowing the answer.

“Bubbles, Papa! Don’t be silly!” Yuri giggled.

Yuuri shrugged before pouring a generous amount of bubble bath into the tub. “Of course, of course.”

Then, he quickly got Yuri out of his clothes and into the tub, tugging his ponytail holder free. For the most part, he let Yuri take care of himself, mostly just offering suggestions such as: don’t eat the bubbles, hey, maybe don’t splash so much, and a little soap would be nice.

Eventually, Yuuri reached over for the no-tears shampoo and massaged it into Yuri’s hair, gently working it into his scalp. Yuri’s hair was so long, and it was only getting longer. “Hey, Yuri?” Yuuri asked. “Do you like having long hair?”

Yuri was quiet for a moment before nodding and biting his lip. “Mama doesn’t like hair. She says it's girly…”

Yuuri snorted, pulling the shampoo filled hair until it stuck straight in the hair like a mohawk. “And what if it does? That isn’t a bad thing, you know.”

“It’s not?” Yuri asked, eyes wide.

“Of course not!” Yuuri grinned. “You can wear your hair any way you want, Yu-chan. As long as you like it, that’s all that matters. And besides, some of the strongest people I know are girls.”

Yuri finally giggled when he noticed that Yuuri had styled his hair into pigtails. Yuuri was glad to hear the sound, regretting bringing his mother up, no matter how roundabout the conversation had been.

Once Yuuri was satisfied that Yuri was clean, he pulled the child from the bath and toweled him off, rubbing scentless lotion into his skin and dressing him in some of the pajamas that had come with the box of Gymboree clothes. With that done, Yuuri dabbed at Yuri’s hair with the towel before pulling the hairdryer out of the cabinet and putting it on low heat, drying Yuri’s hair just enough that it wasn’t sopping wet. Then Yuuri carefully pulled Yuri’s hair into a loose braid, pulling some of the hair by his hairline just a bit so that it wasn’t so tight.

And then. The final step.

“Okay, Yu-chan…” Yuuri murmured, raising his hands as if he were approaching a feral animal. “You know what comes next…”

“No!” Yuri shouted before making a run for the door. Yuuri may or may not have put extra lotion on his hands so that he wouldn’t be able to the turn the door handle.

“Now, Yu-chan. Dental hygiene is very important. You don’t want a cavity, do you?” Yuuri asked, faking horror as he grabbed Yuri’s children’s toothpaste and Sailor Moon toothbrush from the cabinet.

“Don’t wanna!” Yuri whined, falling to the floor and kicking at Yuuri’s arms as Yuuri drew closer. “Don’t _wanna_!”

Yuuri sighed. “It’s a shame...only big boys brush their teeth before bed...But I guess, since you’re still a baby and all, I shouldn’t ask you to…”

“I’m not a baby!” Yuri yelped, making a grab for the toothbrush, but Yuuri yanked it just out of reach.

“Are you sure?” Yuuri asked, brows furrowed.

“Yeah! I’m a big boy!” Yuri shrieked, finally successfully snagging the toothbrush and pushing it into his mouth.

“Alright, then.” Yuuri agreed, internally cheering at a crisis averted. “You have to keep brushing until I’ve said the ABCs twice, okay?”

Yuri nodded and Yuuri began singing through the ABCs slowly, carefully watching Yuri’s movements to make sure that he was moving the brush over all of his teeth evenly. When he had finished the song twice, Yuuri took the brush from Yuri and offered him a cup of water to gargle and spit.

Finally done with their routine, Yuuri opened the bathroom door and released Yuri back into the apartment in a cloud of steam. Yuri took of running, padding down the hall until he reached their bedroom. Yuuri followed behind Yuri at a much slower pace, stopping to grab his laptop from the living room and brushing his own teeth before heading to his bedroom. Once there, he set his laptop up with a cartoon and played it while he changed into his pajamas and slid between the sheets next to where Yuri was already nodding off.

Yuuri glanced over to where Yuri was buried in the blankets, making sure that his nose was still exposed so that he could breathe before turning his attention to his phone, seeing that he had a new text message from Victor.

  
  
  


**Vitya**

[20:02] _Thank you again for having me over tonight. I had a really good time ;)_

[20:02] Thank you for coming over :) Yuri really enjoyed his toy

[20:03] _Do you think it would be okay if we got dinner together again sometime? With Yuri, too, of course. In fact, I saw this adorable pair of shoes the other day, but I wasn’t sure what Yuri’s size was. We could go look at them together…?_

[20:05] Yuri and I would love to get dinner with you! But you know, you really don’t have to buy Yuri anything special. He likes spending time with you as is.

[20.05] _Oh, I don’t mind at all! It’s really exciting for me, actually, I’ve never had any children in my life that I could buy things for and I love shopping._

[20:06] _I hope you like spending time with me too…? ;)_

[20:08] Of course! I’m sure you know this already, but I’ve looked up to you for a long time. And besides, you’re a really incredible person…

[20:10] _I think you’re pretty incredible, yourself._

[20:10] _that reminds me. I saw the most incredible cat the other day. I know that it’s a cat, but just bear with me_

[20:11] _[image]_

[20:12] okay, that cat is Adorable

[20:12] dont show Yuri, or he’ll be asking for a cat until the day we die

[20:13] _my_ _lips are sealed ))))_

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

The next day at practice was...disorienting. Everything was completely, absolutely normal. Yuuri packed Yuri some orange slices and juice boxes alongside his coloring books. Then, Yuuri woke Yuri up, got the two of them dressed and fed despite the unholy hour, and then they were out the door. The rink was nearly empty when Yuuri arrived, but slowly, everyone else began to filter in while Yuuri got Yuri situation on his bench, tugging Yuri’s fleece blanket free from his backpack and wrapping it around Yuri’s shoulders while the child used Yuuri’s scarf as a pillow. After that, it was time for warming up and then after that, Yuuri was on the ice, running through the ice.

Everything was completely normal. Completely normal except not.

When Yuuri had arrived at the rink, it had been nearly empty except for Victor seemingly working out the fragments of a step sequence on the ice. When he had spotted Yuuri, he had hurried to skate towards the boards, calling out an enthusiastic greeting. Then, he had asked for permission to kiss Yuuri, which Yuuri had shakily agreed to, and then Victor had pressed a quick kiss to Yuuri’s lips before moving to where Yuri was drowsily sagging on the bench, gently folding him over on his side so that he could nap more carefully.

And before long, Yuri was asleep and it was just Yuuri and Victor on the ice.

Everything was completely normal, except _nothing_ was.

It was almost giving Yuuri whiplash, the normalcy of it all. How easy it was to let Victor guide in him through warm ups and press kisses against his cheeks and lips and hold his hands. They broke away only when the others arrived, but even then, Victor was constantly there.

Usually, the closeness would have been enough to cause Yuuri to push someone away. The lack of personal space would have left Yuuri feeling stifled and overwhelmed. But the way that Victor so comfortably invaded Yuuri felt less like an intrusion and more like coming home. Like Yuuri had spent his entire life missing a part of him, and only now was he beginning to understand what he had been missing. He thought his heart would never calm in his chest, but he didn’t mind if that meant that Victor would never stop touching him.

More than once, Yakov and Celestino had to break them apart while Yuuri stuttered through excuses and Victor grinned without remorse. It was thrilling. Exhilarating. Victor wanted to be with Yuuri and he was so unashamed. So sure of himself. It did wonders for clearing the doubts in Yuuri’s mind. Victor Nikiforov had been the one thing in life that Yuuri had always been sure of and to see that familiar look of self assurance on Victor’s features because of _him_ made Yuuri feel confident, in return.

By the time lunch rolled around and they were released from the rink to wander off on their own, _Yuuri_ was the one reaching for Victor, relishing in the way that Victor’s long, slender fingers seemed to encase his own.

“Would it...be alright...if we went to the park together?” Yuuri asked quietly, nerves fluttering in his throat. “I’m sure Makkachin would like it, and Yuri could use the time outdoors.”

Victor’s eyes glittered with excitement. “That sounds wonderful! I’ll just need to run home and grab Makka. I could meet you and Yuri there in about thirty minutes?”

Yuuri nodded happily. “That sounds great!” He turned his attention to Yuri. “What do you say, Yu-chan? Does the park sound fun?”

Yuri looked up from his coloring book and bit his lip. “Is Makkachin going to come too?”

Yuuri nodded, monitoring Yuri’s expression to make sure there was no fear there. “Yes, she will be. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Yuri’s smile spread ear to ear and he beamed happily. “Yeah!”

Yuuri moved to start packing their things into the backpack, attempting to ignore the flush on his face when Victor pressed a quick kiss against his cheek before taking off. When Yuuri had all of their things packed, he reached for Yuri’s hand and urged him out the doors of the rink, taking off towards the park.

It was only when they were completely alone that Yuuri managed to bring it up. “Yu-chan? Do you like Victor and Makkachin?”

Yuri nodded. “Victor brings me presents. And Makkachin was really mean and tried to eat Potya, but she didn’t mean it, so she’s okay.”

Yuuri bit his lip to hide his smile. “Yes, that was pretty mean of her, but she said sorry, right?”

“Right.”

“So, would it bother you if Victor was around more often?”

Yuri frowned. “Like last night?”

Yuuri nodded. “Like last night.”

“Is Victor going to live with us?” Yuri asked, a whine coloring his voice. “The bed is _way_ too small. He’ll have to sleep with Phichit.”

Yuuri’s face paled before he broke out into hysterical laughter. “A-Ah, no, Yuri. Victor isn’t going to live with us. Me and Victor are just really good friends, is all, so he might be around more often.”

“Like you and Phichit?”

“Uhm kinda, but even closer than that. Really _really_ good friends.”

Yuri seemed to mull over Yuuri’s words for a moment before nodding. “Victor is nice and brings me presents, so he can stay.”

“I’m glad that you approve.” Yuuri chuckled, leaning down to tickle Yuri.

“Papa! That tickles!” Yuri shrieked, wiggling away.

  
  
  


**Chris**

[15:02] chris...help me...im so gay

[15:04] _Hello Victor, how are you? Oh? How am I? Why, that’s so unlike you to ask. I’m doing splendid. Masumi and I have just returned from our vacation and we’re glad to be back._

[15:04] chris...he doesn’t even use chapstick...but i’m so weak...so incredibly weak

[15:07] _Oh? So you’ve kissed? That didn’t take very long_

[15:07] I only have a week left here. I’m working on a tight schedule, here

[15:08] _have you talked to him about how things are going to work when you go back to Russia? It’s going to be a lot harder than it is, now_

[15:08] Not yet, but I’m walking to the park to meet with him, now. I’m going to talk to him about things, then.

[15:09] I really like him chris

[15:10] like, really really like him

[15:12] _Then make him yours. Officially._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind me,,,,,just leaving this here
> 
> Again, yall are so great! Thank you to everyone who commented last chapter! I'm so glad that many of you really enjoyed it! This was more of a filler-esque sort of chapter and focuses mostly on Yuuri and Victor with side characters, but next chapter, they'll finally talk with each other before Victor has to go back to Russia


	11. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor become an item and Yuuri's validity is brought into question

_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

When they reached the park, Yuuri could see Victor already waiting on bench near the swingset with Makkachin. Yuri was tugging at his hand excitedly, so Yuuri relinquished his grip and let the boy barrel towards Victor, laughing when Makkachin ran to meet him halfway, knocking Yuri over and licking all across his face.

“Makkachin!” Victor chuckled. “I’ve told you hundreds of times that it isn’t polite to greet people like that!”

Victor stood and gently urged Makkachin back enough that he could help a giggling Yuri to his feet, brushing his back free of stray bits of grass. “Are you okay, Yura?” Victor asked.

Yuri nodded and pointed to the empty soccer field nearby. “Can me and Makkachin go play, now?”

Yuuri pulled his backpack off of his shoulder and sat it on the ground beside him, crouching so that he could dig through it. “Wait one second, Yu-chan. I’ve got some sunscreen for your face.”  


Yuri whined when Victor tugged him over, holding him in place by his shoulders when he started squirming. Yuuri rose a brow at his wiggling child. “I don’t want to hear it, Yu-chan. It’s really bright right now, and I don’t want you getting burned.”

Yuri pouted but finally stood still in Victor’s grasp long enough that Yuuri could gently swipe the cream over Yuri’s face and ears. When he was satisfied, he nodded at Victor to set Yuri loose, grinning as Yuri took off for the soccer field at a dead sprint, Makkachin hot on his trail. “If you get hungry or thirsty come back over here, Yu-chan!” Yuuri called before standing straight, grabbing his bag, and moving towards the bench.

Yuuri went down on the bench like a sack of rocks, shoulders drooping. “It sure is a lot of work taking care of a four year old…”

Victor moved to sit beside him, leaning back on his hands and turning his gaze towards the blue sky. It was nearly the same color as his eyes and Yuuri was slightly lovestruck, just then. “But you do such a fantastic job. You know. As a single parent.”

Yuuri could feel color flooding his cheeks at the emphasis that Victor had put on the last part of his statement. “Listen, Victor I--”

“Yuuri, I--”

Yuuri’s flush crept to his ears. “A-Ah, you go ahead, Victor. Sorry for interrupting…”

“Oh, you didn’t interrupt me. I should be the one apologizing for interrupting _you_. You should go ahead.” Victor chuckled bashfully.

“Oh, no, really. I insist.”

It was silent for a beat or two, only the sound of the wind rustling the trees and Yuri laughing in the distances disrupting the stillness. Yuuri could feel his heart thrumming in his chest and adrenaline flooding his veins. He needed to just ask Victor to be with him. They were working on a limited schedule and Victor would be returning to Russia, soon. Yuuri didn’t have the time to be nervous. Didn’t have the time to doubt that Victor would want to be with him.

But honestly, what if Victor _didn’t_? It would be perfectly understandable. Victor could have anyone he wanted. Why would he want Yuuri who had so much baggage that he could fill a moving van. And Victor was going back to Russia and the kisses had only been Victor having some fun while he was away from his home rink. Yuuri was just a bit of fun on the side for him and soon, Victor was going to leave and this would all be just a distant memory. And if only Yuuri were different. If only he were prettier and better at skating and confident then maybe Victor would like him. Maybe then, Victor would stay. Who was Yuuri kidding? What was he doing--

“Yuuri.” Victor suddenly cut through through the silence between them, his voice was confident. Sure. “I’m sure you know by this point that I have feelings for you and that I want to be with you. Officially.”

Yuuri blinked, drawing himself out of his anxiety spiral so suddenly that it nearly left him breathless. “Y-You do…?”

“Yuuri…” Victor murmured, chuckling slightly with disbelief. “Of _course_ I do. I don’t just go around kissing anyone, you know. You do know that, right?”

And the truth was, that Yuuri _didn’t_ know that. In fact, there was quite a lot that Yuuri didn’t know about Victor. And there was even more that Victor didn’t know about Yuuri. “But you hardly know me, Victor.”

“I know enough to know that I want to give being with you a try.” Victor’s voice was sturdy and strong. There wasn’t a hint of hesitance in what he was saying. “I know it’ll be hard, with you training here and me training in Russia, and I know you have Yuri’s feelings to consider, as well, but I really want to try, Yuuri. I don’t think I could go back to the way things were before you.”

Finally, Victor turned so that they could meet eyes and Yuuri searched his face, looking for anything that would hint that Victor wasn’t telling the truth, but he found nothing. He turned his eyes to the clenched fists in his lap. It was the only way he was going to be able to say what he needed to say. “I’m not the easiest person to be with, Victor. I’m weak mentally, and I lack confidence. I push people away without meaning to, and I’m a single father to a four year old I found on a public bus. I don’t know if you know what you’re getting yourself into...”

It was silent for long enough after that, that Yuuri’s eyes slid shut to fight off the stinging in them, nails biting into the flesh of his thighs. He didn’t want Victor to see him cry. Even though Yuuri had expected it, the rejection still stung.

He felt hands on hit, massaging the tense joints of his fingers until his hands went slack, releasing the death grip they had had previously. Yuuri’s eyes blinked open, still glistening, and his gaze swung to meet Victor’s.

“Yuuri…” Victor began, voice heavy with some unidentified emotion. “I know that you’ve been my fan for quite some time, but I’m not the person that gets printed on those posters. That is a version of me that has been molded and marketed so that you think of me exactly as you are now. But Yuuri, that isn’t really _me_.”

“Then who _are_ you?” Yuuri asked, voice lost.

Victor swallowed thickly. “I’m...Well...I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve been sure for a really long time. But lately, being around you, it makes me feel like I’m starting to figure it out, again. And for now, who I am, is someone who wants to be with you.”

“Yeah?” Yuuri asked wetly, a lump forming in his throat even as butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

“Yeah.” Victor nodded, gaze fierce. Then, he softened. “Would you be willing to try? Being together, that is.”

“I...I think I would like that...Very much…” Yuuri whispered, eyes still tracing the lines of Victor’s face.

And then, Victor was leaning in, expression so soft that it startled Yuuri. And then, Victor was pressing his lips against Yuuri’s. It was hardly a kiss, more a brushing of lips, but it set Yuuri’s face aflame so suddenly that it made sweat prickle the back of his neck.

“It’s not going to be easy…We’ll have to figure out the logistics. Long distance is hard.” Yuuri gasped when the broke away, but Victor silenced him with another kiss.

Victor pulled back long enough to meet Yuuri’s eyes. “Don’t sabotage yourself like that. We’re in this together now, Yuuri. You and me. We’ll figure things out. As long as you want to be mine, we’ll figure it out.”

“And you’re mine, now?” Yuuri asked, breathless and on the cusp of having everything that he’s ever dreamed of having.

“I’m yours.” Victor agreed.

“So…” Yuuri started, nudging Victor’s shoulder playfully with his. “We’re boyfriends, now.”

Victor’s cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink that made Yuuri’s heart beat even faster in his chest. “Yeah. Boyfriends.”

Yuuri chuckled. “It sounds so juvenile. Like there isn’t a small child involved. When you say it like that.”

Victor laughed a sudden, loud piggy snort. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in delight. “I’ve never heard that before.”

“Heard what before?”

“I’ve never heard you laugh like that.” Yuuri’s voice was matter of fact. “I guess you control it more in interviews, but you have an ugly laugh.” His voice turned teasing at the tail end of his statement.

“ _Yu-uri_!” Victor whined dramatically. “You have to promise that you won’t leak that to the tabloids.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Yuuri pretended to mull it over. “I’m sure there’s a gossip mag out there that would be dying to know the only ugly thing about the great Victor Nikiforov.”

“Just name your price and I’ll buy your silence.” Victor teased.

“I accept bribery in the form of kisses.” Yuuri informed him, voice confident though his blush betrayed how the statement affected him.

“Why didn’t you say so, then?” Victor murmured, leaning forward and pressing a sweet kiss to the tip of Yuuri’s nose. “There. Paid in full.”

“ _Vitya_!” Yuuri groaned. “You know that wasn’t what I meant.”

Victor’s face turned a deep shade of red at the sound of his diminutive. “ _Yuuri_!”

“What?” Yuuri’s voice took on a teasing tone, once more. “Isn’t that what you wanted me to call you, Vitya?”

“Yes, I know, but I didn’t expect it to be used against me.” Victor whined. “You’re just so cute, Yuuri! I don’t know what to do with myself! I want to squeeze your cheeks!”

“Don’t squeeze Papa, he’s not a baby!” Yuri suddenly called from just over Yuuri’s shoulder.

Yuuri scrambled to put some distance between himself and Victor. He hadn’t seen Yuri ran back towards them. He quickly scanned over Yuri’s face to make sure that the child hadn’t begun to sunburn. When he was satisfied that Yuri’s skin wasn’t beginning to burn he turned towards his backpack and started digging around for the goldfish crackers he had packed for Yuri.

“Are you hungry, Yu-chan?” Yuuri asked, unearthing the bag of crackers. “I have juice for you, too.”

Yuri ignored Yuuri, his attention focused on Victor. “Are you and Papa going to be really good friends like Papa said you would?”  


The noise that Yuuri made in response to Yuri’s question was equal parts panicked and embarrassed. Yuuri swung his gaze towards Victor, hoping to do some damage control, but Victor didn’t seem upset about how obviously presumptuous Yuuri had been. Instead, Victor was absolutely beaming.

“You got that right, Yuri! Me and your Papa are going to be really good friends!”

Yuri nodded, seeming to accept Victor’s answer. “So that means you’re going to stay here and live with me and Papa and visit lots, right?”

“A-Ah...well…” Victor began, seeming to search for the right words, but failing to do so.

Yuuri quickly cut in. “Yu-chan, honey, Victor lives in Russia. He was only supposed to stay here with us in Detroit for a little bit, and then he has to go back home. Me and Victor are still going to be really good friends, and we can still call him and talk to him all the time, but Victor has to go back home, soon.”

Yuri stomped his feet angrily. “But that’s not _fair_!” His lower lip jutted out. “He can’t just _leave_!”

“I don’t want to leave, either, Yura, but I have to…” Victor murmured gently. “But I’m going to call you all the time and I’ll visit you as often as I can. And when your Papa starts competing in a few months, we’ll see each other at competitions.”

“But you just got here!” Yuri sniffed wetly. “You can’t just leave!”

Victor tugged Yuri close to him, wrapping his arms around the child while Yuuri wiped away at the tears that began to roll down Yuri’s chubby cheeks. They both cooed nonsense in the child’s ears while he cried in Victor’s arms and Yuuri brushed the hair from his face. There wasn’t much else that they could say to soothe his tears, so they let him cry himself out. Eventually, his sobs quieted and Victor drew his face away from his neck enough that the could see that Yuri had fallen asleep.

Victor sighed. “I didn’t mean for that to happen…”

Yuuri nodded, brushing Yuri’s hair once more before moving to stand, gathering everything into his backpack. He could feel tears of his own prickling at the backs of his eyes, but he fought them back. Now wasn’t the time for him to cry because Victor was leaving. He would do that when he was alone. “There wasn’t anything you could have done. Yuri likes you a lot, you know. Likes having you around. It’s going to be hard for him to get used to you being gone, again.” A pause. “We should start heading back. I should probably just let him sleep this off.”

Victor nodded and swept Yuri into his arms, cradling him easily and allowing Yuuri to take the lead as they started walking towards Yuuri’s apartment. It was silent for a while, both of them seemingly lost in their thoughts, before Victor spoke, once more.

“I know that things aren’t...ideal...between us, what with me having to leave so suddenly, but I’m going to make it work, somehow. And when the season starts, I’ll fly out to as many of your competitions as I can--”

“‘We’.” Yuuri interrupted.

“Pardon me?”

“‘We’ are going to make it work, Vitya. You’re not the only one who has to put work into this relationship for it to work. We have Yuri to consider, and it's going to be long distance, but if you’re willing to try, then I’m going to give it my all, too.”

“Yeah…” Victor whispered, a soft smile curling at the corners of his lips. “I guess you’re right. We’ll make it work, together.”

  
  


**v-nikiforov**

[ video description: Yuri is stomping up and down the sidewalk with a pair of sneakers on that light up bright red when he walks.

Yuuri: Do you like your new shoes, honey? Tell Victor thank you

Yuri, running towards Victor and slamming into his legs: thankyouthankyouthankyou!]

13.2k likes

 **v-nikiforov** every kid needs a pair of light up shoes #yuurikatsuki #cute #thiskidwarmsmyheart

 **King_Yuuri** this is the cutest thing ive ever seen

 **katsukatsu** wait are they dating?? They’ve been seen in instagram posts together ever since victor came to detroit

 **RealVictor** @katsukatsu so?? People can be friends, susan

  
  
  


_April 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Impossibly, they spent even more time together leading up to Victor’s departure. At the rink, they skate circles around each other, Yuuri helping to tighten up some of Victor’s spins and Victor working with Yuuri on his jump entrances. Then, when practice was over, they would head back to Yuuri’s apartment, sometimes with Yuri swinging between them and sometimes with Yuri clinging to Victor’s shoulders.

It was still odd to see Victor Nikiforov in Yuuri’s shabby little kitchen, but as Yuuri was beginning to find out, perhaps the person Yuuri had always known as Victor Nikiforov had never really been in his apartment, at all. The Victor who spent time there was surprisingly clumsy with his hands and Yuuri could hardly trust him with a knife before he was nicking his fingers. And yet, when he would crouch beside Yuri in order to help him assemble some toy or puzzle, his hands were steady and sure. The Victor who Yuuri was beginning to know laughed unabashedly and was overly dramatic and clingy. And it had only been a few days, but Yuuri felt that he could feel something blooming just beneath his skin. Something that, if given room to grow, could be _love_.

And Victor was so good with Yuri. He was patient and kind and gentle. He wasn’t always conscientious of things that Yuuri put a lot of effort into, like making sure Yuri mostly stuck to healthy snacks and took regular naps, but playing with Yuri and getting Yuri to do things he didn’t want to do came naturally to him. Where usually, Yuuri had to beg Yuri to take a bath or to finish his vegetables, Victor merely had to phrase the request like a challenge or a dare, and Yuri was scrambling to complete whatever the task was.

It was wonderful. Everything was so incredibly wonderful.

But then, before Yuuri was even aware of it, it was time for Victor to leave. Yuuri felt like the rug had been yanked out from under him and he was left to flounder. Victor and the rest of team Russia was set to leave early in the morning, so Yuuri had promised Victor that he and Yuri would head to his apartment that morning to ride with him to the airport.

“Yuri...come on, now. It’s time to wake up…” Yuuri murmured, shaking Yuri’s shoulder gently.

“Don’t _wanna_!” Yuri whined, turning away, his hair an absolute bird’s nest from where it had fallen out of its braid while he had been sleeping.

Yuuri sighed. “Yuri, don’t you want to say goodbye to Victor before he leaves? It would make him very sad if he didn’t get to say bye to you.”

At the sound of Victor’s name, Yuri grumbled but otherwise complied when Yuuri urged him out of bed and into some clothes. Before long, Yuuri had them both ready to go and was shoving a tube of yoghurt in Yuri’s hands so he could eat while they made their way to Victor’s apartment.

Luckily, the walk wasn’t too far if they cut through the park, and in a few minutes, the door to the apartment was swinging open to reveal Yakov’s grumpy face.

“Ah, Katsuki. You’re here for Victor, yes?” Yakov grumbled, his accent much thicker than usual with quiet exhaustion coloring his voice. “Come in, he’s waiting for you.”

Before either Yuuri or Yuri would clear the threshold entirely, Victor was barrelling around the corner and straight into them, gathering the two of them to his chest. “Oh! I don’t want to leave!” He cried. “I wish I could stay a bit longer…”

Yuuri patted his back reassuringly, running gentle fingers through Victor’s unusually messy hair. “It’s going to be okay, Vitya. You’ll call me as soon as you land and we’ll Skype all the time and it’ll be like you never left.”

Victor sighed and dragged himself away, meeting Yuuri’s steady gaze. “I suppose you’re right...Besides, I have to train really hard if I’m going to give you a run for your money this season…”

Yuuri’s chuckled. “I should be saying that to _you_ , Mr. Reigning Champion.”

“I guess that makes us rivals.” Victor laughed. “Don’t tell Chris I told you that, or he’ll cry. He’s wanted to beat me for so long that if anyone beats him to the punch he’ll never forgive them.”

Yuuri grinned wickedly. “He better get ready to cry, then. You’re going down, Nikiforov.”

“Oh, I intend to…” Victor winked saucily.

Yuuri’s blush hit him like a freight train, heart thundering in his chest. “V-Vitya! Not in front of Yuri!”   
  
“No!” Yuri whined, tugging at the end of Yuuri’s jacket. “No secrets!”

“A-Ah, it’s not really a _secret_ , per say…” Yuuri mumbled. “Shouldn’t we start heading for the airport? Check in is usually three hours before international flights.”

Victor nodded, sighing heavily. “You’re right. Yakov called a car to come collect us, so I should be getting Makkachin ready…”

They split to comb through the apartment one final time, looking for any stray items that any of the residents could have left behind. Victor quickly organized his bags with a practiced efficiency, organizing them by the door and clipping Makkachin’s leash to her collar just as Mila and Georgi were shuffling sleepily out of their rooms, clutching suitcases in their hands.

“Mila, why are you wearing sunglasses?” Victor asked, baffled. “It’s practically pitch black outside.”

Mila groaned and shuffled towards the kitchenette where Yakov was already pouring coffee into a styrofoam coffee cup for her. “This time of day isn’t meant for the living, Vitya. My delicate constitution can’t handle it.”

“She was out late last night partying with some girl she met at the mall the other day.” Georgi helpfully supplied, moving forward to take the second cup that Yakov poured. “And I stayed up late last night trying to finish the romance novel I started yesterday. I couldn’t put it down.”

“Come along, children.” Yakov sighed, switching the coffee pot off and dumping the rest of the coffee. “It’s time to leave. Vitya, go through and make sure all the lights are turned off.”

Victor did as he was asked and then they all shuffled outside while Yakov locked the door behind them, putting the key under the mat for the landlord to find after they leave. And then, they were making their way down the steps and towards the large black van that was parked on the side of the road, waiting for them.

Yuuri helped with what bags that he could while Victor worked to get Makkachin into the van. There was no carseat, so Victor and Yuuri sandwiched Yuri between them on the far back row of seats. By the time they were all buckled in and the van was pulling out, Yuri was most of the way to falling asleep, once more.

The city outside was dark and the van was quiet, the soft tinkling of soft jazz spilling from the speakers to keep the small space from stifling silence. It felt like some unworldly space. Yuuri looks beside him to where Victor was leaning against the window, blue eyes tracing the buildings that they passed. He looked sad. Yuuri’s fingers crept across the seats until his hand was resting just on top of Victor’s, squeezing it gently before relaxing. The corners of Victor’s lips twitched up in a tiny smile and he turned his hand palm up so that their fingers could lace.

“I don’t want to have to leave you…” Victor whispered, finally turning so that he was facing Yuuri, forehead pressed against Yuuri’s.

“I don’t want you to go…” Yuuri whispered back, leaning up so that the tips of their noses brushed against each other. “I’m going to miss touching you.”

“And kissing you…” Victor murmured, pressing his lips softly to Yuuri’s.

Yuuri smiled against Victor’s lips. “And cuddling on the couch…”

Victor’s hand squeezed Yuuri’s. “And holding hands at practice…”

Yuuri leaned forward and pressed his lips to Victor’s cheeks. His jaw. His ear. The tip of his nose. “I’m going to miss you…” A pause, lips turning up into a wide smile. “But I am going to positively _crush_ you this season…”

“Oh? Is that so?” Victor chuckled.

“Yeah, it really is.” Yuuri giggled. “You’re going down.”

“Well, then.” Victor smiled. “I look forward to it.”

  
  
  


**SOURCES REVEAL THAT KATSUKI ISN’T THE FATHER TO CHILD**

By Alexandra Hommen

Earlier this year, Yuuri Katsuki announced his plans to return to the figure skating scene, but this time as a new dad. With his new image, Katsuki has managed to emass quite a few sponsorships from well known children’s brands, including Gymboree. However, our sources inform us that Yuuri Katsuki is not the father of the child thought to be his. While many have been left baffled at the sudden presence of a child by Katsuki’s side, a local bus driver in Detroit has come forward with information that Katsuki found the child while riding the bus, and when he was unable to locate the mother who originally brought the child on board, left with the child entow.

We’re not sure what this means for Katsuki’s skating season, the legal ramifications of his actions, and his status as a single father, but we are sure of one thing: Yuuri Katsuki is not the father of the child that has recently been seen glued to his side.

READ MORE

 **Anonymous:** Okay but what type of parent leaves their child on a public bus

 **Katsuki_Skate:** This just doesn’t sound like something Yuuri woud do

 **VictorFangirl23:** What so now he’s a kidnapper????

 **Katsuki_fc_international:** let’s not make any assumptions until we hear from yuuri

    himself, thank you.

 **VictorFangirl23:** do you literally just comment the same thing every time someone criticizes katsuki in anyway

 **VikNikDik:** looks like he’s found a new rock bottom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall.......pls dont kill me for this cliffhanger i promise im updating again soon....it Had to happen


	12. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri deals with the aftermath of the article publication and Victor tries not to fall apart

**IS KATSUKI SCAMMING GYMBOREE?**

By Amy Sague

With the article posted last week bringing figure skater, Yuuri Katsuki’s parental status into question, many have been drawing their own conclusions about the nature of Katsuki’s recent, big-dollar sponsorship deal with Gymboree. 

<READ MORE>

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_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

He couldn’t breathe. His hands were shaking and his vision was blurry, but he experienced these things from a place that was far away. Phichit was shaking his shoulders, trying to knock him out of his trance, but his eyes were fixed on his phone screen. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t look away

  
  
  
  
  


**WHAT KATSUKI SCANDAL COULD MEAN FOR HIS UPCOMING SEASON**

By Eva Marvin

Although the rumors have not been confirmed by Yuuri Katsuki, himself, yet, the turmoil that the scandal has thrown the figure skating world into has left many fans questioning how genuine his rumored return to the skating scene really is. With public opinion of Katsuki declining since last Friday, many have wondered whether or not Gymboree will be withdrawing their support of Katsuki. 

<READ MORE>

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_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

Nine days. It had been nine days since the article had been published that had been effectively ruining his life. His phone was full of missed calls and he hadn’t left the apartment in days. Yuri had stopped asking him if they could go outside to play. Yuuri felt like a failure. If he had just submitted the forms when he had decided to take care of Yuri, then none of this would have happened. Or maybe it still would have. Turning in the forms didn’t change that Yuuri had plucked Yuri from a public bus like a low hanging fruit. Yuuri had no business taking care of anyone, and his reluctance to make it legal was only proof. 

Maybe someone would come soon to take Yuri away. Maybe that was for the best. 

The room was dark and the bright light of his cellphone was hurting his eyes, but he couldn’t stop scrolling through article after article. They were all asking the same questions:  _ What had he been thinking? Was he just using Yuri for his own benefit? Had he even attempted to find Yuri’s birth mother? Could this be considered a kidnapping? _

All of his worst fears and insecurities all lined up in neat little tabs on his internet browser. 

And what was he doing now? Sitting in his dark bedroom stewing in his own filth instead of taking care of Yuri. He was proving them all right. He wasn’t even cherishing the time that he had left with his son. 

But he couldn’t make himself move. It was like his body weighed a thousand pounds. It was like if he left the bed, he would have to deal with the aftermath of his own poor decisions. His confidence had taken a death blow and though it seemed petty, that his lack of confidence was keeping him under his blankets like a scared child, but it was the truth. 

Thank god he didn’t live alone. At least Phichit was there for Yuri when his useless pseudo-father couldn’t be. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Vitya**

[20:12]  _ Yuusha, I heard about what’s happening. Please call me, we’ll figure this out together _

  
  


_ Missed Call From Vitya _

_ Missed Call From Vitya _

  
  


**Vitya**

[12:12]  _ I know you’re going through a lot right now, but please call me. I just want to help you. _

  
  


_ Missed Call From Vitya _

_ Missed Call From Vitya _

_ 3 New Voicemails _

  
  


**Vitya**

[09:21] _ I guess I’m not good at the whole staying away thing, but I thought we had something good going for us in Detroit and I don’t want it to end like this… _

[9:36]  _ That was petty of me, I’m sorry. Please. Just call me. _

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Yuuri hadn’t spoken to him in nine days. It had only been ten since he had left Detroit. They had only been dating officially for less than a month. Victor had been through this before. Yuuri wasn’t the first person to start ignoring Victor’s calls when he grew too clingy. He knew that he was a lot to handle on a good day, and the last nine days had  _ not  _ been good days. 

It was selfish of him and Yuuri was dealing with what was beginning to fester into a scandal, but Victor couldn’t help but to direct some of Yuuri’s silences inward and twist them around until they looked like his deepest insecurities reflected back at him. 

He wanted to be there for Yuuri. He wanted to hire the best lawyer he could and secure Yuri’s custody for him. He wanted to wipe away Yuuri’s tears and hold him close. He wanted to be a supportive partner. But for some reason, Yuuri didn’t  _ want  _ him to be. And it was heartbreaking. Devastating. That Yuuri preferred to deal with this mess on his own. 

He was jerked from his thoughts by Yakov’s sudden appearance at his elbow, a heavy palm landing on his shoulder roughly. “Your skating is distracted. Lilia has told me about your boy. The kid.” 

Though his words were purposefully vague with so many other skaters still filling the rink, Victor could surmise what he meant. He huffed and attempted to shrug off Yakov’s hand but the man’s grip was unrelenting. “I didn’t even know Lilia knew what the internet was…”

“She has her ways.” Yakov informed him menacingly. “Let’s discuss how this is going to  _ not  _ affect your skating.”

Victor sighed and resigned himself to being dragged off of the ice by Yakov. He hadn’t been doing much productive work, anyway. And maybe Yakov could make sense of the jumbled knot of his thoughts better than Victor could on his own. 

While Yakov’s back was turned, Victor pulled his phone from his pocket, just to check, and saw it sadly free of any notifications indicating Yuuri had attempted to contact him. His shoulders were heavy with defeat as he quickly unlaced his skates and packed them away before following Yakov to the tiny office tucked into the corner of the massive, olympic sized skating rink. 

The click of the door behind Victor filled him with a strong sense of nostalgia. He had spent hours upon hours in this office with Yakov. Most skaters would have moved to a new coach after Juniors in order to expand their style and try something new, but as much as Victor craved surprise and adventure, his skating meant nothing if at its core, Yakov wasn’t standing solid, keeping him grounded. 

As it was, Yakov shuffled over to the tiny electric kettle he kept in the corner, grumbling about silly boys and their weak hearts as he switched it on to brew before digging through the basket next to it for some tea bags and jam. By the time Yakov was placing a steaming cup in front of Victor, spooning jam into it himself because Victor couldn’t be trusted, Yakov had already worked his way to ranting about how back in his day, the Soviet skaters had been solid as warriors. Now, they were weak and emotional and didn’t know how to make their own tea. Useless. 

It brought Victor a vague sense of comfort to hear that rant. It was the same one he had listened to nearly every time he had tried to come to practice after some silly boy had broken his heart. Yakov could always tell when Victor was trying to work through something and though Yakov wasn’t his father and it wasn’t his responsibility to piece Victor back together, he always did. 

“Now,” Yakov grumbled, scrubbing at his stubble tiredly. “Tell me about your boy. I thought we had fixed this before we left Detroit.”

Victor turned his sad eyes down towards his tea. The steam that drifted up kept Victor from allowing tears to fall. Yakov could tolerate a lot of Victor’s emotional fumbling, but he was as useless with crying people as Victor, himself, was. “A news article was published about little Yura. If Yuuri doesn’t do something, they might try to take Yura away. He won’t answer my calls and texts. I’m not sure what to do.” 

Yakov folded his hands over his chest and leaned back in his chair, turning his gaze up to the ceiling while he thought. Eventually, when Victor had almost snapped at the stifling silence, Yakov turned back to him. “And this boy will make you happy? And you will concentrate on skating until the season is over?” 

Victor’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Well...Well, yes, if things were fine with Yuuri, it would be pretty simple to get my programs together. I wasn’t  _ just _ flirting when I was in Detroit, you know. I don’t take advantages of opportunities to learn from skaters like Cialdini.” 

“Good.” Yakov gruffed. He took a sip from his tea and then calmly replaced the mug on the dark wooden desk. “I will fix this for you, then.” 

Victor gaped at him. “What do you mean you’ll ‘fix’ this?” 

Yakov levelled Victor with an even stare. “I have many friends. One of them is an excellent family lawyer. She owes me a favor.” 

“A lawyer?” Victor asked, dumbstruck. 

“The problem is that your Yuuri is not Yura’s legal father, yes? Then we just have to make him one. I’ll give Anya Aleksandrovna a call this afternoon.” Yakov paused, eyes narrowed. “And after I clean up this mess for you, you will focus on skating again, correct?” 

Victor nodded shakily. Just what sort of favor did Yakov do for this Anya Aleksandrovna for her to owe him an entire custody suit? Victor hadn’t been a major player in the “Yakov is Ex-Bratva” rumors since he was still a Juniors skater, but wonder if maybe...just  _ maybe _ ...Yakov had…” 

“Yakov...For Anya Aleksandrovna...Did you maybe...Ki--” Victor began. 

“I put her son to work at Yubileyny when he started getting into trouble as a teenager. He was a thorn in my side for years and so she owes me quite the favor as payment for pain and suffering.” Yakov supplied. “Now, run along, Vitya. You still have cross training to do. And if your boy won’t answer you, contact the other one. The roommate. I believe he once said he was quite active on ‘The Gram’.” 

Victor stood shakily, still not sure how to process what had just happened. Before Yakov could decide to rescind his offer, Victor quickly left the office and moved to collect his belongings in order to move to the gyms at the lower levels of the complex. He didn’t even bother to pause at the fact that Yakov had referred to Instagram as ‘The Gram’.

In a last ditch effort, Victor pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent of one last message.

  
  
  
  
  


**phichit+chu**

Hey phichit, this is victor. 

Yuuri won’t answer my texts or calls, 

so I wondered if maybe you 

could gently encourage him? 

I really need to talk to him

_ 11:23 _

I’m working on it right now

I’ll keep you posted

_11:41_   
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

There was a knocking on his bedroom door and with his phone finally dead, there was nothing to keep Yuuri from hyperfixating on the noise. He blinked blurry eyes out into the darkness of his room. How long he had been lying like that? 

“Yuuri!” Phichit’s voiced begged from the other side. “Please come out, I’m begging you!” 

Yuuri rolled away from the door to face the wall with a shuddering breath. He wasn’t ready, yet. He just needed some time to process. 

“ _ Yuuri _ !” Phichit called, a note of finality in his voice. “I’m giving you to the count of ten and then I’m coming in.” 

Yuuri groaned and rolled further into the blankets. 

“One!”

The sheets really needed to be washed. He hadn’t moved much in over a week. 

“Two!”

Was Celestino mad at him for skipping practice like this? Not that it would matter much if he just retired like he had said he would instead of being an idiot and trying to carry on with a lost cause. 

“Three!”

Was Yuri okay? Yuuri was being a pretty shitty parent, right now. Maybe Yuri hated him, now, for ignoring him. 

“Four!” 

This was all so hopeless…

“Five! Fuck it! I’m coming in, anyways!” Phichit hollered, obviously overcome with enough frustration that counting to ten was clearly forgotten. 

Yuuri shot up, glaring at Phichit. “Hey! Don’t say that word in front of Yuri!” 

Phichit rolled his eyes and flipped the bedroom lights on, ignoring the way that Yuuri winced at the sudden bright light. “I think whether or not Yuri remembers a curse word is the least of your parenting concerns, right now.” 

Yuuri’s eyes fell down to his lap, twisting in the blankets pooled in his lap. “I know that...I make a pretty shitty parent…” 

Phichit crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “You’re a great dad, Yuuri. I know Yuri thinks so, too. But lately, you haven’t been acting much like a dad, at all. He’s been going nuts worried about you. It’s your job to make sure that Yuri never has to worry about you like that.” 

“I know…” Yuuri whispered. 

His attention was caught by the tiny figure that was peeking out from around the doorframe into the room. Yuri’s hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of his head and his long t-shirt brushed his knees. It must have been an old reject shirt of Phichit’s. 

“Papa?” Yuri whispered, as if he didn’t dare speak any louder. “Are you still sick?”

At the sight of Yuri, Yuuri was crushed by an overwhelming sense of guilt. He couldn’t believe that he had really shoved Yuri off on Phichit so that he could have a mental breakdown by himself. He should have been better. He should have been stronger. He had let Phichit down. And he had most certainly let Yuri down. “A little, Yu-chan, but I’m going to try and get better.” Yuuri whispered back, just as quiet.

Yuri barreled into the room at the sound of Yuuri’s voice, launching himself at his father and burying his nose against Yuuri’s throat. “I thought you were going to be sick forever! Mama got sick sometimes and she wouldn’t get out of bed and she was sick all the time!” The child sobbed somewhat hysterically. 

Yuuri winced, throat tightening at Yuri’s admission. “I’m so sorry, Yu-chan…” Yuuri murmured, burying his face in Yuri’s hair. “I’ll fight more, from now on. I’m sorry I scared you.” 

Phichit came forward and sat next to Yuuri, patting him on the back. “I know that you struggle with something that I can never understand, but you have to fight it, Yuuri. For Yuri’s sake. Who knows if someone is going to try and Yuri away. We need to come up with a plan. So now isn’t the time for wallowing.” 

Yuuri swallowed thickly and looked up at Phichit with teary eyes. “I know that, but what can I even  _ do _ ? Even if Gymboree doesn’t pull the sponsorship deal, I can’t afford a lawsuit. And who would I even be suing? Yuri’s mom vanished. I have no idea where she even is.” 

“We’ll figure it out together, Yuuri. You’re not fighting this on your own. We all love Yuri.” Phichit paused. “And speaking of, you need to call Victor. He’s been completely distraught for days, now. He cares a lot about you and Yuri, so don’t shut him out, too.” 

Yuuri nodded, a shuddering sigh escaping his lips. “You’re right.” He stood from the bed suddenly, a determined look on his face and Yuri in his arms. “I’m going to fix this. Somehow.” 

He set Yuri down and dug through the sheets for his phone, plugging it in to charge on the nightstand before moving to strip the sheets, putting them in his laundry basket and digging his spare set out of his closet. 

Yuri watched him quietly, letting Yuuri move freely, but keeping the end of Yuuri’s shirt in his fist so that they were still connected. Content that Yuuri wouldn’t fall into another depressive cycle, Phichit nodded and stood from the bed. 

“I’m going to get something started for dinner.” He glanced at Yuri. “Do you want to come help me, Yuri?” 

Yuri quietly shook his head, a pout tugging at the corners of his lips. He remained where he was, fist still curled in the hem of Yuuri’s shirt. 

Meanwhile, Yuuri was frantically shuffling around the mess in his room while his mind zipped rapidly from one thought to the other. Even if he was no longer actively hiding from his problems, he still wasn’t sure what he could do to fix anything. Changing his sheets and getting dressed wasn’t going to change the fact that Yuri wasn’t legally his child and that every moment Yuuri continued on as normal was a moment that could be one of his last with Yuri. The only thing keeping the police from knocking down his apartment door and seizing Yuri was the fact that so far, the rumors were just that: rumors. 

Yuuri felt guilty for thinking it, but he was glad Yuri mother was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t imagine how much worse the situation could be if she had gone to the reporters, herself. 

His mind was a mess and he had little hope of working through it on his own. 

He needed to talk to Victor. 

The thought made him feel vaguely nauseous. After avoiding him for so long, would Victor even  _ want  _ to talk to him, or had he assumed that Yuuri ignoring him and meant that they were no longer together? 

The thought made Yuuri’s heart feel even heavier. He wanted to bury himself in his blankets, again. But he couldn’t. He needed to be brave. 

His phone was charged enough that it would turn on, once more, and so Yuuri sank heavily back onto the bed, phone clutched in his hand and Yuri sprawled in his lap, attempting to read the massive flood of text messages that came in, even though he couldn’t read. 

Yuuri took a deep breath in an attempt to draw strength before hesitantly clicking the icon with Victor’s name on it. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Vitya**

[15:32]  _ Yuuri, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, right now, but Yakov is very good friends with an accomplished family lawyer. He said that he could give her a call if you’re okay with it to help you put together a case. I know that you’re going through a lot right now, but I don’t want to see you suffering, anymore. Please call me.  _

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Victor groaned and rolled over in bed, hand sleepily running through Makkachin’s curls from where she was slumped against him, dead asleep. Victor’s phone was vibrating furiously on the nightstand beside him, and it seemed as though it had been for some time, based on how long it usually took Victor to wake enough to realize what was going on. 

Sluggishly, Victor reached for the phone, drawing it closer to where his face was still pressed into his pillows. He forced his eyes open with no small amount of effort, wincing as his eyes attempted to adjust to the bright light before he was able to read the words.

 

_ Incoming Call from Yuusha <3 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out! I'm moving at the end of the month, so things have been a bit hectic. 
> 
> As always, I really appreciate all of the comments. It's been really great interacting with you guys!
> 
> ((I'm senshoo on tumblr, as well))


	13. Hide

_March 2001, Sofia, Bulgaria_

Beside him, Yakov cut an intimidating figure: suit pressed free of wrinkles, hair combed neatly into place, and eyes lit with enough confidence to fill the entire room. In fact, Yakov looked so confident, that it must not have been immediately obvious that Victor was not paying attention to the press conference around him, the weight of the gold medal around his neck still a new sensation.

“Question for Nikiforov: who were you skating for out there today?” A reporter asked. When Victor didn’t immediately answer, Yakov reached over to pinch Victor’s side, jarring him from his deep thoughts.

Kindly, the reporter repeated his question.

“Well…” Victor drawled, bringing his ponytail over his shoulder so that he could fiddle with the length of it nervously. He had been coached for months on how to answer reporters and maintain a positive public image, but Victor was still not used to so many cameras and eyes being directed his way. In the silence of that small conference room, it felt as if the entire world had stopped for Victor to answer that question.

“Well...I was skating for myself.” He finally answered. This time, his voice was sure.

Beside him, Yakov nodded firmly in approval and it made Victor’s heart soar.

  


_December 2008, Hasetsu, Japan_

“A _quad flip_!” Yuuri shrieked, voice cracking embarrassingly as a result of the sheer volume. “Yuu-chan, did you _see_ that!”

Yuuko was bent forward around her massive belly, slapping the tatami floor in front of her furiously in her excitement. “Oh my god, oh my _god_!”

Yuuri fell back against the tatami as Victor was striking his final pose, circling the rink to greet the audience before gracefully leaving the ice. Victor hadn’t even looked shaken that he had managed to land the flip. Like it had been as easy as breathing.

Nothing about skating was as easy as breathing for Yuuri. Dance was easy. Figure skating, on the other hand, was something that Yuuri had to work at. He couldn’t imagine having so much raw talent that he could ever manage to pull off even a second of what Victor had just accomplished.

“He can’t be human. I refuse to accept that.” Yuuko groaned as she fell back on the tatami beside Yuuri, both of them staring up at the off-white ceiling of Yuuri’s family room.

Beyond the thin walls of the room, Yuuri could hear the bustle of dinner service and he knew that he should really get up to help Mari and his parents, but he couldn’t seem to move from where he lay prone on the floor.

“Do you think…” Yuuri whispered, licking his chapped lips. His heart was hammering in his chest unevenly. “That someday, I could skate like that, too?”

“Of course!” Yuuko shouted, rolling over to face Yuuri, her belly pressed to his side. “That’s why you’re going to Detroit this summer, after all. Besides,” She poked the side of her enormous belly. “You have to skate for the both of us, now.”

Yuuri glanced towards her out of the corner of his eye. “You could always come back, you know. After the triplets are born.”

Yuuko scoffed. “Yeah, fat chance of that happening. These little monsters are ruining my hips.” She grinned suddenly and nudged his arm. “ _You’re_ the one who’s going to be a world record breaking skater, anyway.”

Yuuri couldn’t fight the smile turning up the corners of his lips. “You think so?”

Yuuko nodded fiercely, reaching over to grab hold of his hand. “I _know_ so. Just wait. One day, you’re going to land a quad flip that’s as clean as spring water, and Victor won’t stand a chance.”

Yuuri rolled on his side so that he could see her more easily. “Are you scared?”

Yuuko glanced over at him, brows furrowed. “Scared of what?”

“Scared to be a mother.”

Yuuko hummed thoughtfully and rubbed her huge belly. “It _is_ scary. I’m going to be responsible for three little people. And they’re going to depend on me for everything. And Takeshi is going to be a dad. And life is moving too quickly for me to really understand how these things happen so fast.” She paused, lips quirking up in a smile. “But I’m the most excited I think I’ve ever been. I’m scared, but I’m going to be a good mother. Or die trying.”

Yuuri turned so that he could stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “You’re braver than I am.”

“You’ve got a lot of love in your heart, Yuuri-kun.” Yuuko whispered, a smile in her voice. “And one day, you’re going to find someone to give it to who needs it. And it’s going to be scary, but you’ll know how to be brave. You’ll _know_.”

  
  
  


_January 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

People rarely understand their darkest moments when they’re stuck in the middle of them. She understood, logically, that she would one day look back on this very moment and wonder just what in the utter _fuck_ could have possibly possessed her to do what she was planning to do. But she realized these things from a place far away, watching her body do things that she shouldn't be doing.

Beside her, Yurochka was cold but not scared. She could tell. Mother’s intuition, though she hasn’t ever felt like very much of a mother. In fact, she hasn’t felt like very much of anything in a very long time.

She liked to think about life a series of choices contained within a single person. She had made the wrong choice when she was fourteen, and now, there she was, with a child beside her. She was young. Too young to be a mother. And so far, she was doing a pretty terrible job at it.

She could have gone about this in another way. The right way. She could have left her child somewhere where she knew he would be safe. She could have decided to just not have a child, at all, if this was what she was planning on doing to him. She could have done a lot of things differently. But she was young and she was dumb and she was about to do the wrong thing.

She loved her child. She really did. But in that moment, on that cold bus in Detroit with her child sitting beside her who was cold but who was not scared, not scared like she was, she loved herself _more_. It would be so easy to walk away. To start over. It made her a terrible mother. It made her a terrible _person_.

The bus stopped to let someone new on. A boy. College aged. Black hair. Dorky glasses. He looked like a good kid. Responsible. She hoped she was right. She waited until the boy was seated, too absorbed in his own thoughts to take notice of the passengers on the bus, and then leaned over to Yurochka to whisper in his ear.

“Yurochka, I want you to go sit next to that man when Mama gets up and don’t tell him I told you to do that. Can you do that for me?” She asked, making sure to keep her voice gentle no matter how much her hands were shaking. “Can you be a good boy?”

Yurochka looked at her with wide green eyes and cold-chapped cheeks and nodded.

She steeled herself for what she was about to do, shuffling through her bag for the papers she had prepared only the day before. Carefully, she tugged up Yurochka’s shirt and tucked the papers into the waist of his pants.

Please let the boy be responsible. God knows she wasn’t.

And then, the bus came to a halt and she stood. Walked down the aisle with measured steps and measured breaths. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t look back. She couldn’t bring herself to glance behind her and see Yurochka all alone on that bench. Couldn’t risk meeting the eyes of the boy she was choosing to trust.

It was hard to watch herself do the wrong thing, all the while unable to stop herself from doing it in the first place. It was hard to get off that bus knowing that she had just abandoned her child. A child that she had loved so very dearly. But she was a terrible mother, and the fact that she had even been physically capable of leaving her child on that bus like she had only proved to her that she had made the right decision, even if that meant doing the wrong thing.

  


 

_May 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Besides, Minako-sensei, Anya Aleksandrovna was probably the most intimidating person Yuuri had ever spoken to. After a long and tearful conversation over the phone with Victor in which Yuuri assured Victor that _no I didn't mean to ignore you, I was ignoring everyone_ and Victor could assure Yuuri that  _no, I don't want to break up with you, I'm just really worried_ , Victor told Yuuri all about Yakov's lawyer friend. She would be dropping in, probably unexpectedly, as soon as she tied up some loose ends on another case she was working on in Chicago. And no, the 'unexpectedly' part wasn't particularly negotiable. Their meeting went like this: it was approximately seven in the morning. Yuuri had just managed to fall asleep after a night full of dodging Yuri’s tossing and turning. They had no plans for the day, so he was comforted by the knowledge that he could sleep the day away without issue.

The doorbell began to ring insistently, shrieking without pause no matter how long Yuuri attempted to block the noise out, shoving his head in his pillow. Eventually, Yuuri was forced to roll out of the warm bed and head to the front door, knowing that Phichit could sleep through a tornado ripping the roof of off their apartment, if he so chose.

Yuuri shuffled towards the front door in his night clothes, scratching sleepily at the skin of his stomach. If Yuuri opened the door only to find a forgotten Amazon purchase on the other side, he was going to _kill_ Phichit.

But that was not was Yuuri found when he opened the door.

No, on the other side of the front door was all five feet two inches of pure Russian disdain.

Anya Aleksandrovna was not a large woman. She was short. Petite. Fine features and delicate cheekbones lined with only the hints of wrinkles. Her graying hair was twisted into a harsh knot on her head, lips pierced judgmentally and arms crossed over the front of her pressed pantsuit. To put it simply, Anya Aleksandrovna was five feet and two inches of pure intimidating energy.

When Yuuri opened the door to see her standing on the other side, he couldn’t help but to instantly tense up, spine straightening and feet spread shoulder width apart.

“C-Can I help you?” He stuttered, voice cracking from disuse.

Anya rose a carefully manicured brow, mouth twisting in displeasure as her eyes traced up and down Yuuri’s form. She obviously found whatever she saw to be quite lacking. “Yuuri Katsuki?”

Yuuri nodded shakily, the back of his neck dotted with nervous sweat.

Anya nodded and made to move forward, nudging Yuuri out of the way as if he were little more than a particularly annoying fly. “Good. We start now.”

Yuuri followed her shakily, shocked at this tiny, Russian woman who had forced her way into his home. “Start w-what?”

Anya glanced up from the kitchen table where she was busy making herself at home, briefcase open and papers already scattered across the surface. “I am Anya Aleksandrovna. Victor Andreevich told you of me, yes?”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in realized and he scrambled to move toward her, offering his hand for a shake. “Oh yes, of course! Thank you so much for coming out!”

Rather than shake his hand, Anya merely glanced at it before reaching out to pat Yuuri’s cheek with her tiny palm. “I take my tea with two sugars.”

“O-Oh, of course…” Yuuri muttered, shuffling over to the cabinets to see if he could manage to dig up any sort of tea that wouldn’t leave the murderous Russian lady at his kitchen table horribly disappointed.

Luckily, Yuuri still had a few tea bags left from when Victor had still been in town. The stuff was horrible, but Victor had seemed to love it. Maybe Anya would appreciate the robust flavor. Yuuri carefully filled the electric kettle and set it to boil the water inside, digging through his cabinets for a mug that wasn’t too embarrassing. Thankfully, he managed to unearth a plain, pale blue mug behind his own “world’s okay-est dad” mug.

He filled the mug after placing the tea bag inside and dropped in two spoonfuls of sugar, offering it to Anya with two hands silently. She glanced at the plain mug before taking it in hand, sipping delicately without hesitation. After a moment or two, she drew back and nodded in approval and Yuuri felt like he could finally breathe, again.

Anya gestured to the empty seat across from her and Yuuri gratefully sunk into it, thankful to finally sit down in order to give his quivering knees a break.

“I owed Yakov quite a big favor to do this for him, and I don’t like for my time to be wasted. Now,” Anya began. “I need you to tell me everything you know about your son.”

“Well,” Yuuri murmured. “I found him on a public bus here in Detroit. He was alone on the bus and when I asked around, no one had seen his mother anywhere. It was still winter here and he didn’t have a proper coat on and I didn’t know what to do, so I took him home with me. When we got back to the apartment, I was trying to get him into some warmer clothes and noticed that his mother had stuffed a bunch of identifying documents into the back of his pants.”

Anya nodded. “Do you still have these documents?”

Yuuri nodded and stood. “Yes, I’ll just go grab them from the other room.”

He hurried to get to his bedroom door, opening it as quietly as possible so as not to wake Yuri who was still dead asleep. After a moment of digging through his desk, Yuuri located the documents and returned to the kitchen, offering them to Anya.

She silently leafed through the papers, occasionally asking quiet questions. “And this bus driver, you spoke to him?”

Yuuri nodded. “He was one of the people on the bus I asked about Yuri. He hadn’t seen his mother, either.”

“And you contacted the police, yes?”

“I called the police the same day and they informed me that I could drop Yuri off at the station, but that he would be placed in the system, eventually, if they couldn’t locate his mother. I...well, I didn’t take him to the station after that, obviously.” Yuuri admitted, flushing in shame.

Anya hummed, rifling through the papers until she could locate the notarized form to add Yuuri to Yuri’s birth certificate. “Believe it or not, this is a really good sign. You couldn’t have filled this out and had it stand in a court of law, but this is a sign that Yuri’s mother, for whatever reason, has no interest in fighting you for custody.” She folded the papers and placed them neatly beside her, taking her tea mug back in hand. “Now, the simplest method would be to find the mother and have her sign legal custody over to you. There isn’t a father on the birth certificate, so the only obstacle is the mother.”

Yuuri huffed, running a hand through his hair. “But how do we find her? Obviously, she left Yuri on that bus hoping to wash her hands of him.”

Anya nodded. “That’s where things are going to get interesting. Of course, we could always petition the state for custody and go above the mother, but winning that sort of case is never a guarantee, especially since you have no blood relation to Yuri. The only viable option right now is to find the mother and get her to sign over custody.”

“And how are we going to do that?” Yuuri asked helplessly. In his mind, he could picture it. They would never find Yuri’s mother. They would try to take the case to the state courts and they would lose. Yuri would be put in the foster care system. If looking for Yuri’s mother would be like searching for a single needle in a massive haystack. She could be anywhere. She may not even be in the city, anymore.

Anya’s voice was grim, but there was a hint of something there that told Yuuri that she was not used to losing. That she was going to fight tooth and nail. It lightened the heavy weight in his chest.

“We’re going to do it by playing a very elaborate game of hide and seek.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short-ish chapter before we transition into the next ~arc~
> 
> ((im senshoo at tumblr too))


	14. Dedication

_ May 2001, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Victor knew that Yakov was probably going to absolutely blow up when he found out that his youngest protege was using the temperamental computer in the office of the ice rink for personal reasons, but this was  _ important _ . Besides, Victor was now the Junior World Champion, so that had to mean that he got  _ some _ special privileges.

“C’mon...C’mon…” Victor hissed, drawing a perfectly crimped strand of hair forward to chew on it. 

“What are you doing?” A voice suddenly asked at his right elbow, causing Victor to shriek at such a decibel that it likely could have risen the dead. 

“G-Gosha!” Victor yelled, shooting his arms forward to hide the screen from Georgi’s view. “Funny meeting you here!” 

“You’re in Coach Yakov’s office.” Georgi informed him. 

Victor nodded hesitantly. “Y-Yes?”

“Using the computer. The computer that’s meant to only be used for ice skating purposes.”

“Yes. And?” 

“I’m going to go get Yakov.” 

“Wait! Gosha, don’t!” Victor shouted, making a grab for Georgi and only getting a fist full of the older boy’s frosted tips. Georgi’s particularly tragic hairstyle had originated from a carefully clipped teen magazine article that disclosed that frosted tips were  _ all  _ the rage with the ladies. 

Georgi yelped and fell back, slumping against Victor and rubbing at his sore head with a pout. “And why shouldn’t I?” 

Victor sighed, twisting a piece of hair between his fingers. “Look, I wasn’t going to share this with anyone because, like, this is only for  _ cool _ people, but if you promise not to tell Yakov, then I guess I’ll let you in on the secret.”

Georgi hesitated for a moment before nodding. Somewhere in the distance, the two of them could hear Yakov grumbling about his phone call cutting out because of the dial up connection.

Victor nodded solemnly before tucking the strand of hair behind his ear, his sticker-earrings on full display. With an air of extreme seriousness, Victor entered an address into the internet browser on the keyboard. 

“Feast your eyes, Georgi. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” 

  
  
  
  


_ Britney Spears Official Fanpage _

This is the OFFICIAL fanpage for the one and ONLY Britney Spears. Only true fans of the queen, herself, are allowed to enter. No haters will be tolerated. 

  
  


ENTER PASSWORD:

___________________ 

  
  
  
  


_ February 2006, Hasetsu, Japan _

Yuuri understood that logically, he had nothing to prove to anyone. Especially to a bunch of strangers on the internet. Especially about Victor Nikiforov. But Yuuri had  _ pride _ , and so there he was, at three in the morning, on the shared family computer, fighting with internet bullies on Myspace about whether or not really deserved to medal at the Turin Olympics. 

Here was how it went: Victor was one of the youngest olympians competing in the figure skating round. At the age of twenty one, Victor had only been competing as a senior skater for less than two years before being pulled from competition for the remainder of the season in order to solely focus on the upcoming olympics. As the decided dark horse of the competition, many had expected Victor to sweep the competition. 

But then he fell. 

Yuuri was sure that he would remember that moment for the rest of his life. With Yuuko beside him, firmly clutching his hand, and Minako on his other side, eyes wide in shock, Yuuri had watching Victor Nikiforov fall for the first time in competition. Falling was such a common event, that for most skaters, it would have been a surprising, but normal occurance. But not for Victor. Victor had  _ never _ fallen that hard before. He had touched the ice before. Two footed a landing. Wobbled a bit on unsteady blades. But this was different. Going in for a quadruple toe loop, Victor had managed to stick the landing, but had fallen only seconds after, effectively shaking his routine’s effortless grace.

As a result, the point deduction had left Victor just half a point shy of snagging the bronze medal. Yuuri, alongside a legion of Victor Nikiforov fans, thought that Victor had been robbed. After all, he  _ had _ stuck the landing. 

So Yuuri, being who he was, really had no choice but to take to the internet to voice his feelings. He could hear his mother walking around in the other room, so he would have to be ultra stealthy so that she wouldn’t catch him awake this late. He had emotions and they needed to exit through his fingers right  _ now _ .

  
  
  
  
  


STATUS AND MOOD UPDATES

_ nikiforov-lover _ thinks that Victor just had a bronze medal stolen from him   _ Mood:  _ mad >:(

_ plushenkos-girl  _ thinks that Victor fans need to get over themselves   _ Mood: _ annoyed >:(

_               nikiforov-lover _ just say my name next time sweety :)

_                           plushenkos-girl  _ this is exactly what i’m talking about. You victor fans are so

                                                 delusional

_                                      nikiforov-lover _ the only delusion i have ever had was that plushenko fans 

                                                           could be reasonable. Guess i was wrong. victor has more skill in one toe pick than 

                                                           any skater out there. My husband was ROBBED

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

Anya was busy typing away on her laptop, her perfectly manicured fingernails making impressive clinking noises against the keys, when the door to Yuuri’s bedroom creaked open. 

“Papa?” Yuri asked hesitantly, eyeing Anya up and down from where he stood, mostly obscured by the door. 

“A-Ah, Yu-chan! Good morning!” Yuuri called nervously, glancing over at the intimidating figure that Anya cut, sitting at their kitchen table. “You’re up early…?”

Slowly, Yuri left the doorway, still obviously shy in the face of the unexpected stranger sitting in their kitchen. When he finally made it to Yuuri’s side, he buried his face in Yuuri’s stomach, hiding from Anya’s intense stare. 

Yuuri glanced helplessly over at Anya. He couldn’t very well ask her to be less intimidating. He could already picture that conversation:  _ Hello, Anya. You seem to be radiating Russian death vibes. Mind toning it down so that you don’t scare my kid? Thanks _ . 

And then she would kill Yuuri without lifting a finger and then Yuri would be an orphan. Tragic. 

But before Yuuri could work out quite how he was going to keep Yuri occupied, a miracle happened. 

“Oh hello there, darling.” Anya cooed, smiling gently as her whole face softened. “Did you sleep well? Your papa and I were just talking about you.”

Yuri lifted his head, peeking out from behind his hair. “Really?” 

Anya nodded. “Oh yes, your papa was just telling me all about how wonderful you are.” 

Yuri lifted his head fully away from Yuuri’s stomach, grinning widely. “Really, really?” 

“Really, really.” She paused here, shuffling some of her papers out of the way and patting the empty chair beside her. Yuri hesitated for a moment before shuffling closer so that he could settle into the chair. “My name is Anya, what is your name, darling?”

“Yuri…” Yuri mumbled shyly, face flushing. 

“What a cool name you have there!” Anya cheered. Then she turned back to Yuuri, her face going back to the cool, intense stare that Yuuri had been dealing with before Yuri had entered the room. “What are you doing just sitting there? This boy needs to eat, he’s skin and bones!”

Yuuri’s face flushed in embarrassment as he scrambled out of his chair to throw together some oatmeal and a banana for Yuri, making sure to slice the banana evenly and spoon in some brown sugar into the mixture before bringing it to the table alongside Yuri’s vitamins. 

“Wow! Look at how yummy!” Anya enthused while Yuri dug into his breakfast. When she was satisfied that Yuri was being fed correctly, she shuffled her papers together and carefully began to pack her briefcase again, leaving only a single piece of paper on the table. She slid the paper towards the edge of the table where Yuuri could see it. 

“This is a privacy agreement giving me permission to bring in some outside help to try and track down the mother. Once you sign this, I’ll be contacting some of the friends I have in the city to see if we can’t get the ball rolling on this case.” She informed him, purposefully vague so that Yuri wouldn’t catch on to what they were talking about. 

Yuuri nodded along to her explanation and took the pen she offered, signing on the dotted line. Once that was done, Anya snatched up the paper and replaced it with her card. 

“I’ll be contacting you within the next two weeks to let you know what I’ve found. In the meantime, I recommend that you ignore the press and continue with your normal lives. Let me take care of the rest. It's important that things go back to normal as much as they can. We'll find the mother, I can promise you that.” 

Yuuri nodded and shook her hand when she offered it. “Thank you again, Anya. This means the world to me.” 

Anya shook her head, lips quirked up in a smile. “No,  _ he _ means the world to you. This case is just about making sure that he gets the resources he needs in order to grow up in the best possible way, given what he’s been through. I’ll be in touch, Mr. Katsuki.” 

And with that being said, she took her briefcase in hand and made her way to the door, allowing Yuuri to close it tightly behind her. 

Once the front door was closed, Yuuri took a minute to collect himself, pressing his forehead to the cool wood and just breathing. Return to normal. How could be possibly just go about with his regular daily routine as if the last few days hadn’t happened? He took a deep breath, held it, and then slowly let it out. He could do this. For Yuri. Yuri needed routine. He needed some sense of normalcy. 

He could do this. 

“Papa?” Yuri called hesitantly from the kitchen table. “I finished eating.” 

Yuuri turned away from the front door with a wide grin. “Awesome job, Yu-chan!” He moved forward to take the bowl away from Yuri, bringing it to the sink. “Hey, what do you think about maybe going to the park later today after skating practice?” 

Yuri’s eyes grew wide. “R-Really? We can go play?”

Yuuri nodded tightly, guilt over the time that he had spent wallowing in this room rendering him mute. 

Yuri jumped from the table with a happy yell, barrelling towards the living room at a breakneck speed. “I’m going to get my toys!”   
  


“Only two toys, Yu-chan!” Yuuri called back, shaking his head. 

Satisfied, Yuuri pulled the materials together to make some quick peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to bring to the rink for Yuri, stuffing some apple slices in a ziploc bag alongside them. That done, Yuuri called for Yuri to come to the bathroom, catching the small child under his arms as he ran at Yuuri at full speed. 

“Time to wash our faces and brush teeth!” Yuuri announced cheerfully, ignoring Yuri’s annoyed groan. 

“But Papa! They’re just baby teeth! They’re all gonna fall out anyway!” Yuri pouted, shoving Yuuri’s hand away when he tried to hand Yuri his toothbrush. 

Yuuri frowned before sighing heavily, pretending to give in. “Oh well, I guess I’ll have to find another kid to buy ice cream for at the park. After all, only people who brush their teeth are allowed to eat ice cream. Everyone knows that.” 

Yuri gasped, eyes wide. “R-Really?”

Yuuri nodded solemnly. “Really.” 

Yuuri silently offered up the toothbrush once more and mentally cheered when Yuri took it with little fuss. “Remember to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star twice, Yu-chan.” 

Yuri stomped his little foot but obediently began to hum the tune while he brushed, never pausing even when the song started up once more. When he had successfully hummed the song both times, Yuuri nodded his head and allowed Yuri to rinse his mouth, stepping away from the sink when he was done so that Yuuri could carefully wash his face with a damp washcloth. 

When he was satisfied, Yuuri grabbed the detangling brush from the cabinet and carefully worked the brush through Yuri’s knotted hair, starting at the ends and working his way up. After he had brushed through Yuri’s hair a few times, he gathered it up and tied it into a simple ponytail before nudging Yuri playfully. 

“Alright you’re released from jail, now.” Yuuri chuckled. “Go pick out some clothes.”

Yuri grinned and happily ran out of the bathroom, ponytail flying behind him. 

Right. Normal routine. Yuuri could do this. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Victor was just beginning to nod off on his sofa, Makkachin curled against his side, when his phone started ringing. Blearily, Victor fished the device from where it had fallen between the couch cushions, ignoring the startled woof that Makkachin let out. 

Seeing that it was Yuuri requesting to facetime, Victor grinned sleepily before accepting, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to encourage it to lay somewhat flat. 

“Vitya!” Yuuri called happily. His eyes widened when he took in Victor’s sleepy eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it was that late in Saint Petersburg…”

Victor waved his concern off. “It’s not that late, I’m just old. How are you doing, Yuusha? Did the meeting with Anya go well?”

Yuuri nodded shyly. “It went really well. She was pretty intimidating, but she seemed pretty confident. Thank you again, Vitya, meeting with her was a huge relief.” 

“I’m pretty sure that Yakov isn’t friends with anyone who  _ doesn’t _ look intimidating. Just wait until you meet his on again off again wife.” Victor chuckled. He noticed the trees behind Yuuri and narrowed his eyes searchingly. “Where are you? The park?”   
  


Yuuri’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! That’s right! I was calling because Yu-chan had something he wanted to show--”

Suddenly, the camera was jostled and shoved in the face of a four year old. Yuri didn’t seem to have much experience holding the phone because the camera was much too close to his face, but Victor was happy to see him, all the same. 

“Yura!” Victor called in greeting. “What did you want to show me?” 

Yuri grinned widely. “I can do a  _ whole _ front flip!” He announced, confidence clear in his voice. 

Victor’s eyes widened in shock. Was it really safe for a four year old to be attempting a front flip? Even on soft grass, falling out of that sort of move could be pretty dangerous. “A-Ah, Yura, maybe--” 

Suddenly, the camera jostled once more as Yuri evidently threw the phone back at Yuuri. Yuuri grumbled good naturedly and straightened the camera so that he could see Victor, once more. “He just managed to do it today and he absolutely refused to leave the park until he could show you.” 

“Okay…” Victor agreed hesitantly. 

“Papa, Old Man Victor, look!” Yuri demanded loudly. 

Victor did his best not to grumble at the nickname as Yuuri flipped the camera over so that it was recording Yuri where he stood on a soft patch of grass. 

“Okay, Yuri, whenever you’re ready!” Yuuri’s voice called out. 

“Is Victor watching?” Yuri asked, tiny fists clenched in excitement. 

“I’m watching!” Victor informed him, shoulders tense. 

Finally, Yuri bent his knees so that he was squatting in the grass, braced himself, and then rolled forward in a perfect somersault. When he was done, he stood and lifted both hands in the air, posing like Victor often did when he landed a jump on the ice. 

“Tada!” Yuri announced, ponytail mussed and smile bright. 

Victor could hear Yuuri chuckling. “Good job, Yu-chan! That was awesome!”    
  
Victor practically melted against the couch in relief that Yuri hadn’t  _ actually _ tried to do a flip. He was so relieved that he could help but to start giggling to himself as Yuri ran up to the phone, tugging it back from Yuuri and shoving his face so close to the screen that Victor had a perfect view of the inside of his nose.

“What did you think of my flip?” Yuri asked, through his question was more a shouted demand than a genuine inquiry. 

Victor smiled widely. “That was one awesome flip! And nice landing, Yura!” 

Yuri beamed with pride before shoving the phone back at Yuuri. “Here talk to Papa! I’m finished talking to you!”   
  
“Yuri, don’t be rude!” Yuuri admonished at Yuri presumably raced away. For a moment, all Victor could hear was static as Yuuri sighed. 

“You hanging in there, Yuusha?” Victor asked quietly. 

Yuuri nodded, adjusting his grip on the phone so that it was angled better. “Yeah, I’m holding it together. Anya is supposed to contact me in the next few days with an update on the case. We’re going to have to track Yuri’s birth mother down somehow and get her to sign custody over to me. It’s the only way to resolve this without it going to a big court case.”

Victor sighed. “I wish I could be there with you...You shouldn’t have to go through this alone…”

Yuuri smiled slightly. “I wish you were here, too, but there’s no helping it. I’m just glad that you’re here like this.”

“Always.” Victor promised. 

Yuuri smiled softly before sighing, again. “I should let you go so that I can make sure Yuri doesn’t break his neck on the swings. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” 

“It can’t come soon enough.” Victor promised. 

When the call had ended, Victor fell back against the sofa with a lovestruck sigh. He was glad that Yakov was able to send Anya to Yuuri, but he just wished that Yuuri didn’t have to deal with all of this alone. Maybe soon, when he had narrowed down his programs a little more, he could catch a flight to detroit and visit just before the season began. 

But in order for that to happen, Victor had to get his programs figured out. There was no time to waste. Determined, he pulled his phone back out and began to flip through the playlist of potential music that he had been keeping track of, ready to work. 

Makkachin woofed happily by his side. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Minako-sensei**

[23:12]  _ Yuuri, explain to me why I had to hear from your mother that you finished classes?? _

[23:12]  _ Is this the thanks that I get??? For literally giving birth to you???? _

[23:14] minako-sensei...i don’t know how to tell you this...but you didnt give birth to me

[23:16]  _ i taught you ballet which is practically the same thing _

[23:17] _ Expect me within a week. _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who wrote to tell me how much they love Anya??? I love her so much so I'm glad a lot fo yall seemed to like her, too. 
> 
> I've also decided to open a ko-fi account, too ((also senshoo)). I write this fic mostly at Starbucks and I drink a ridiculous amount of coffee, so if you guys enjoy my writing and want to support my caffeine addiction, then I would love you forever
> 
> ((also i'm senshoo on tumblr as well))


	15. Minako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am back from the dead and Minako finally arrives

_ April 2003, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

Yakov groaned when his home phone began to ring from the kitchen. He had just sat down after a long afternoon training session with Georgi and he wasn’t too keen to stand again, any time soon. He tilted his head back against his worn armchair and waited patiently for the ringing to stop. Eventually it did. 

Only to be followed immediately with more ringing. 

“Lilia!” Yakov called helplessly. “Phone!”

“It’s not my phone after six in the evening!” She called back faintly, presumably from their large bedroom. 

Yakov waited a few moments, praying to old gods and new that whoever dared to call him would give up, eventually.

They didn’t.

With a great sigh, Yakov heaved himself up from his armchair and hobbled to the kitchen to answer the phone, grumbling under his breath the whole time. He already knew who it was. Only one person would dare to disturb Yakov during his off hours. 

“What do you want, Vitya?” Yakov huffed into the phone immediately upon answering. 

“Yakov! My darling coach! The guiding light in this time of darkness!” Victor blubbered on the other end, obviously on the edge of a complete breakdown. 

Yakov took a moment to collect himself, reminding himself that Victor was a silly boy and he lacked the self awareness that would guide him away from calling his coach so many times over something that probably had nothing to do with figure skating. “Victor, spit it out!”    
  


Victor sniffled helplessly before his voice came wobbling over the phone. “Oh, Yakov! Its an emergency! I know I shouldn’t have listened to Georgi, but he promised that the dye would wash out!” 

Yakov looked to the heavens for strength, half annoyed and half amazed that even while confessing what he had done wrong, Victor still managed to incriminate someone else. “I’ll be there in half and hour. And by God, you better make this up to me in practice tomorrow.” 

Victor whimpered out a pitiful “Okay…” and then hung up. 

Yakov turned towards the cabinets and began to dig around, looking for something that would strip Victor’s silver, gold medal winning, hair. 

“Was that Vitya?” Lilia asked from behind Yakov, startling him such that he bumped his head on the top of the cabinet he was digging through. 

He cursed and yanked his head free, rubbing at his sore head before turning to face Lilia. “That boy has done something wretched to his hair, so I have to drive all the way across town to save him from himself.”

Lilia nodded thoughtfully before rummaging through the drawer near Yakov’s elbow and extracting a heavy bag. “Here, soak his hair in this and it should remove whatever that boy has managed to do to it.” 

Yakov nodded solemnly before grabbing the bag and his keys off of the counter. “I’ll be back, eventually. Don’t wait for me.” 

By the time Yakov had managed to drive all the way to Victor’s tiny apartment right near the rink, he had managed to work himself up to a proper rage. He knew that he was supposed to be monitoring his moods due to his tendency towards an elevated blood pressure, but if his doctor wanted him to stay calm all the time, then he should first do something about Yakov’s idiotic skaters. It was simply impossible to remain calm when coaching Victor Nikiforov. 

Yakov heaved himself out of his car, knees creaking as he did so, and limped his way up the steps towards Victor’s building, nodding at the doorman who tipped his hat to him. Yakov begrudgingly pressed the button next to Victor’s apartment number and waited to be buzzed in, sighing when it happened almost immediately. 

Eventually, he was standing right in front of Victor’s door, but before he could even dig through his pocket for the spare key that he unfortunately had to use much too often, the door swung open, revealing a distressed Victor. 

With bright pink hair.

“V-Vitya!” Yakov coughed, staring wide eyed at the sight before him. “What have you done?”

“Oh, Yakov!” Victor bubblered, falling into Yakov’s eyes. “Georgi read online that you can use juice to temporarily color your hair and I thought it would be fun to try, but no matter how many times I wash my hair, it won’t come out! I’m going to go bald, Yakov!” 

Yakov sighed heavily and patted Victor’s back reassuringly. “You’re not going to go bald, Vitya.” 

“You promise?” Victor asked tearfully, pulling  back to tug at the damp ends of his bright pink hair. “Oh, Yakov, the color is just horrible. This is why I should never listen to Georgi.” 

“Or,” Yakov offered. “This is why you shouldn’t blindly listen to anyone.”

With a sigh, Yakov shouldered his way into the apartment, shrugging off his coat and pulling the bag of baking soda from his pocket. “Come along, Vitya, we’re in for a long night.”

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2006, Hasetsu, Japan _

Yuuri grumbled from his position on the floor, scrubbing at the tiles beside one of the large pools of hot water. “This is totally not fair.”

Mari chuckled from where she watched him, leaning against the nearby wall. “It totally is fair. You shouldn’t have taken mom’s credit card.” 

“It was an emergency!” Yuuri grumbled. “Mom said that the card was for emergencies!”   
  
Mari scoffed. “Pre-ordering Victor Nikiforov’s new line of socks is not what Mom meant when she said that the card was for emergencies.”

Yuuri dropped the brush, staring up at Mari woefully, “But they’re limited edition, Mari! Do you even know what that  _ means _ ?”

“It means…” Mari drawled. “That you’re going to be busy scrubbing the hot springs out for the next month to pay for your ‘emergency’.”

Yuuri huffed and picked the brush back up, scrubbing aggressively at the floor. “No one understands me.”

“Oh trust me, Yuuri, we understand you plenty. Understand that you’re completely obsessed with pretty boys in skates.” 

“We’re soulmates!” Yuuri shrieked, offended, while Mari chuckled and walked away. 

Yuuri huffed and went back to scrubbing the tiles, pouting the whole way. Mari just didn’t  _ understand _ . Sure, she was completely obsessed with that Jpop band with the blonde member, Takao, but they were  _ Japanese _ . She didn’t have to worry about paying international shipping, or having to navigate shady Russian ordering websites, or not even being able to see the person she likes in person. Victor only ever came to Japan for competitions and the occasional ice show. The only way Yuuri could be close to him was to buy as many things with his face on it as he possibly could. 

Yuuri stood by his judgement. The socks  _ had _ been an emergency. 

  
  
  
  


_ December 1999, Hasetsu, Japan _

“But Auntie Minako, what if I fall and everyone laughs at me?” Yuuri sniffled, clutching at Minako’s skirt and trembling in his tiny skates. “What if I forget how to skate?”

Minako knelt beside Yuuri and tugged him into her arms. “You’re going to be great, Yuuri! And if you can’t believe in yourself, then believe in me.” She ran her fingers through his short black hair, tucking a stray lock behind his ear. “You’re going to blow everyone away!”

Yuuri nodded shakily and pulled away from Minako. “You promise?” 

“I swear.” Minako nodded solemnly. 

Yuuri took a deep breath to center himself and then nodded, tugging his glasses from his chubby face and handing them to Minako. Then, after Minako had straightened his tiny costume and fought with a stray strand of hair for a moment or two, Yuuri prepared himself to take center ice. 

It was only a small local competition at the local rink, more of a recital than anything else, but Yuuri was taking it completely seriously. Mostly because Takeshi and Yuuko were watching and he refused to look completely lame in front of them, but  _ still _ . Somewhere in the back of his mind, Yuuri hoped that if he did well enough, Takeshi wouldn’t be able to bully him so much. And that Yuuko wouldn’t treat him like such a baby all the time. This was his chance. 

But he was still scared of failing, no matter how many times Minako had told him that he would do great. 

He glanced behind himself to see that Minako was still there. He couldn’t do it if she wasn’t there. 

She was there. She was always there. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ January 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

The bus pulled away and she felt ill. Yurochka was no longer her problem, she had made sure of that, but she felt ill. With the bus gone and her child’s fate firmly left to the hands of God, she couldn’t help but to wonder what she was meant to do, now. Now that she wasn’t a mother, anymore, she was just a silly eighteen year old girl with very little hope for the future. 

When she had become pregnant with Yurochka, she had been sure that her life was over. She had cried and screamed and begged for it to not be true. Then, for a while, she had tried to be a mother to him. Tried to find purpose in a task that she had never asked for. Her parents were no longer around and she had left school when the pregnancy and progressed beyond being able to hide it. She and her child had scraped by in a one room apartment on whatever wages she had managed to earn at whatever job she could find. 

Sometimes at night, when she was running her fingers through Yurochka’s pale golden hair and counting each of his tiny eyelashes, she would wonder if it would be better if she were dead. She would wonder if maybe, in giving birth to Yurochka, she had killed herself. 

Now, years later on a cold sidewalk watching the bus drive away with her child for forever, she knew that she had been wrong. 

She hadn’t been dead before. Before, she had been on the verge of death. Before, she had had Yurochka to live for, and so she had continued on. But now, with Yurochka gone, she was worse than dead. 

She didn’t wish that she could take it back. Didn’t regret what she had done. But, she regretted that she couldn’t have been a different mother. That Yurochka couldn’t have been someone else’s child. 

Eventually, she picked herself off of the sidewalk and stumbled away from the bus stop. There wasn’t anything holding her back from doing whatever she wanted with her life, but now that Yurochka was gone, there wasn’t anything in particular that she wanted to do with it, either. 

Everything was just hopeless. Hopeless and cold. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“Okay, Yu-chan!” Yuuri enthused, hiding his anxiety behind a warm smile. “Lets go get Auntie Minako from the airport!” 

Yuri whined from his spot on the floor, ramming his toy cars into the leg of the living room sofa. “I don’t wanna! I wanna play!” 

Yuuri sighed and turned his attention to the snacks that he had laid out on the kitchen counter, shoving them into his backpack alongside the coloring books and blanket that were a regular presence there. “Now, Yu-chan, you know that we have to make sure that Auntie Minako gets to our house okay. We have to go help her.” 

“I don’t wanna help! I don’t like Auntie Minako!” Yuri cried, throwing his toy car and rolling into a ball on the floor, face turning red in his anger. 

Yuuri ran a hand through his hair tiredly, sighing deeply. “Yuri, I’m going to count to three and by then, I want you over here and ready to go.” 

Yuri let out a frustrated sob as Yuuri began to count slowly, voice even and patient. By the time Yuuri had gotten to two, Yuri had begrudgingly dragged himself over to where Yuuri was standing, his lower lip pushed out into a firm pout. 

“Now, I know you’re scared because Auntie Minako is going to be staying with us for a few days, but remember how scared you were the first time Victor came over? Everything turned out okay then, and everything is going to turn out okay, now.” 

Yuri whined and buried his face in Yuuri’s stomach, clutching the soft material of Yuuri’s shirt in his tiny fists. “What if Auntie Minako doesn’t like me?” Yuri mumbled, the question only barely audible. 

Yuuri reached down and patted Yuri’s back, running his other hand through the blonde’s long hair, tugging at a knot or two as he came across them. “Auntie Minako is going to  _ love _ you, Yu-chan. Trust me.” 

Yuri nodded quietly and allowed Yuuri to tug his hair into a ponytail on the back of his head and wrestle his feet into a pair of shoes. When he was satisfied, Yuuri stood and shouldered his backpack, reaching for Yuri’s hand and requesting an Uber to the airport with the phone in his other hand. 

Once they were standing on the sidewalk waiting for the Uber, Yuuri turned his attention back to Yuri who was pouting slightly beside him. Racking his brain for a way to cheer the kid up, Yuuri chewed on his lip. Finally, after a moment or two of silence, something occurred to him. 

“You know, Yu-chan, Auntie Minako told me that she was bringing lots of presents for you all the way from Japan.”

Yuri’s eyes grew wide and he stared up at Yuuri in excitement. “Really? How many presents?”

Yuuri hummed in thought. “I’m not sure. But definitely a lot. Maybe if you’re good, I’ll let you open a few of them before dinner. But you have to be on your best behavior and promise to be really nice to Auntie Minako.”

Yuri nodded frantically, eyes gleaming and his ponytail flying. “I promise! I promise!” 

Yuuri grinned and offered his pinky for Yuri to twist into a pinky swear. “It’s a deal!”  

After Yuri’s promise, the child really seemed to be trying his best to be on his best behavior. When the Uber arrived, Yuri didn’t fuss about being jostled in the car and didn’t whine when Yuuri offered him a baggie of apple slices over the cookies that he knew were in the backpack somewhere. He didn’t even complain when Yuuri eased him out of the car and into the crowded waiting area in the airport, sitting perfectly still and watching the doors that led to the baggage claim like a hawk. 

Yuuri couldn’t say that he wasn’t relieved. The past few days had been stressful, enough, just thinking about Minako coming to check up on him and regular updates from Anya without throwing a temper tantrum into the mix. Yuri had been behaving oddly since Yuuri had sat him down and explained who Minako was and that she was coming to visit them. Yuuri guessed that it was because Minako was someone who had been in Yuuri’s life before Yuri. Yuuri wondered if maybe that was making Yuri insecure. He hoped it was something that a few presents and Minako’s overzealous personality could remedy. 

And speak of the devil, there she was, coming through the sliding doors with a wide grin on her face. 

“Yuuri!” She called excitedly, her willowy form dragging an obviously overpacked suitcase behind her. 

She obviously hadn’t changed much in the years that Yuuri had been away, still tall and skinny. Same long brown hair twisted in a clip away from her face. Same shit eating grin. Same menacing gleam in her eye. 

“Minako-sensei!” Yuuri greeted happily, gesturing down towards Yuri who was hiding behind his leg shyly. “This is Yuri!” 

Minako crouched down when she was standing right in front of them, digging through her purse until she could unearth the chocolate that she had stashed there. “Hi, Yu-chan! I’m Minako, Yuuri’s ballet teacher. Would you like some candy?”

“Minako-sensei!” Yuuri whined in protest, though he made no move to stop her. There really wasn’t any stopping Minako. 

Yuri poked his head out from behind Yuuri’s leg. “Candy?”

Minako nodded. “Candy.” She paused and dug through her purse again, this time pulling out her phone. “And I have some games for you to play on my phone if you want.”

Without hesitation, Yuri left his post behind Yuuri’s leg and bounded for Minako, snatching up both the chocolate and the phone in one fell swoop while Minako cackled evilly at how quickly she had managed to win Yuri over to her side. 

Yuuri sighed, shoulders slumped. “So much for the meal plan…”

Minako scoffed and stood, Yuri secure in her arms. “Oh relax some, Yuuri! Besides, you weren’t so difficult to win over, yourself, when you were his age.”

Yuri was obviously ignoring both of them, tapping away at the game that Minako had managed to open up on her phone before Yuri had whined and snatched it away again. 

Yuuri could already tell that by the end of the day, Minako would have Yuri eating out of the palm of her hand. He could feel the stress knots already forming on his shoulders at the mere thought. 

He was in for a very long week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall sorry about the unplanned hiatus I took from this fic! I moved to a new state and started graduate school back in September and its been taking me a little longer to get my bearings than I would have thought. This chapter is meant to be more of a filler sort of chapter while I get back into the groove of this fic, but I hope that you enjoy it, anyways!
> 
> As always, I really enjoy chatting with yall in the comments!


	16. Visit

_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“And then we went to the playground. And then we played with a puppy. And then Papa let me have a cookie. And then we watched  _ The Lion King _ . And then Papa made me take a bath. And then--”

Minako nodded along as Yuri talked her ear off, catching her up on the last couple of weeks of his life. Minako was being a good sport, nodding in the appropriate places and offering a question or two to show that she was paying attention. Yuuri had tuned the child out nearly as soon as he had started, going through a mental stock of their fridge to make sure that he had enough food to get them through a week with an extra mouth to feed as well as trying to remember if he had asked Yuri to pick up his toys in the living room. 

Before long, the Uber was pulling up to Yuuri’s apartment and he was helping Minako and Yuri out of the back of the car, offering to take Minako’s heavy suitcase up the steps. Yuri obviously wanted to help, too, because he insisted on grabbing Minako’s hand and leading her up the steps. 

“Auntie Minako, do you want to play cars with me?” Yuri asked excitedly as he tugged her through the front door.

“Yu-chan, I think it’s time for you to take a nap. Auntie Minako can play with you when you wake up.” Yuuri rationalized, dragging Minako’s heavy suitcase to the corner of the living room that was empty. 

“Yuuri, where do you keep your tea?” Minako asked, heading towards the kitchen. 

“Ah, just give me a second to get Yuuri into some pajamas, and I’ll make some for us.” 

Minako waved him off. “Don’t worry about me, I can help myself.” 

Yuuri shrugged. “In that case, it’s in the cabinet right next to fridge. Kettles on the counter.”

“Roger that.”

Meanwhile, Yuri had managed to work himself into a full blown tantrum. “I don’t  _ want _ to take a nap! I’m not even  _ sleepy _ !” He cried, face turning red and tears streaming down his cheeks.

Yuuri put his hands on his hips, expression firm. “Now, Yu-chan, you know how cranky you get if you don’t take a nap. You don’t want to be cranky with Auntie Minako here, do you?”

Yuri sniffled and shook his head, cheeks still bright red in his frustration.

Yuuri nodded. “Let’s go get your pajamas on and then get you settled down, okay? I’ll even put a movie on for you.”

Yuri nodded and stood from where he had thrown himself on the floor. “Will you cuddle with me, Papa?” 

Yuuri glanced back over towards the kitchen where Minako was humming to herself and filling the kettle with water. “Yu-chan, I shouldn’t just leave Auntie Minako here by herself…”

Yuri whined and rushed over to bury his face in Yuuri’s t-shirt. Fearing another meltdown, Yuuri quickly racked his brain for a solution. “How about this: I’ll hold you in the living room while Auntie Minako and I talk, does that sound fair?” 

Yuri nodded after a moment of hesitation, pulling his face away from Yuuri’s stomach and allowing himself to be led into the bedroom and wrestled into some pajamas. By the time Yuuri was satisfied, Yuri was yawning widely, eyes drooping. 

Grinning, Yuuri reached down and scooped Yuri up in his arms. “You’re sleepy, aren’t you, honey?” 

Yuri pouted and shook his head stubbornly, burying his face in Yuuri’s neck. “Not sleepy.” 

Yuuri chuckled and and patted Yuri’s back, moving back towards the living room and sinking down carefully on the couch, nodding gratefully at the mug of tea that Minako offered him before sitting down next to him. 

“Not easy to put down for a nap?” Minako asked, nodding towards Yuri. 

Yuuri shrugged, smiling down gently at Yuri, who was most of the way asleep, already. “He fights it, but most of the time he’s out like a light in just a few minutes.”

Minako scoffed. “Mari was always like that. That girl wouldn’t take a nap for anything.” She paused, grinning. “You, on the other hand, were always dead on your feet. You were practically begging for a nap by the time ballet lessons were over. It used to worry your mother, how much you slept.”

Yuuri flushed, pausing in the rhythm he had established rubbing Yuri’s back. The child was already asleep, drooling on the shoulder of Yuuri’s t-shirt. “How are Mom and Dad doing? And Mari?” 

Minako took a sip from her mug and leaned over to straighten the back of Yuri’s pajama shirt. “They’re doing okay. You know, things in Hasetsu have been a little tight--for everyone--but they’re managing to keep afloat. The money you send home helps.” She paused, sighing. “You know, your mother made me promise to make you stop that. We know that things haven’t been easy for you here. And now you have Yuri to look after.”

“Things have been hard, but the sponsorship money helps. Hot springs shut down left and right in Hasetsu, I have to do what I can to make sure that Yu-topia isn’t one of them. It would break my heart…” Yuuri whispered.

Minako sighed. “I know, Yuuri. I know.” 

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence for a moment or two before Minako spoke, again. “Let’s forget the money talk for a moment. Tell me about how being a dad is like.” 

“Well…” Yuuri sighed, holding Yuri slightly more tightly. “I can’t exactly say that this is what I planned, but I wasn’t really sure what else I could do. Thankfully, Yuri is a good kid and he’s easy to love.” 

“And any word from this Anya about the mother?” Minako asked. 

Yuuri shook his head. “None, so far. Anya has been trying to track her down given what public records are available. Unfortunately, Anya believes that Yuri’s mother may still be under age given how few records are available.” 

Minako sighed heavily. “I see.” 

“It’s okay though!” Yuuri assured. “Anya seems confident that we’ll find her. She just wants me to focus on keeping things normal for Yuri. Focus on skating.” 

“That’s good. It won’t due him any good if you disturb his routine. If Anya says that you should leave it to her, then I think you should.” This time, Minako grinned slyly. “And what does Victor have to say about all this?” 

“V-Victor has been very supportive.” Yuuri allowed, blushing fiercely. 

Minako laughed. “Who would have thought that my little Yuuri would grow up to bag the man of his dreams!” 

“Minako-sensei…” Yuuri whined. 

“Oh, let me have my fun.” Minako waved him off. “It’s not like you ever bring anyone home.”

With that said, Minako stood from the couch. “Now, let’s see what we can scrounge up for some dinner. I brought some dashi with me. The good stuff.” 

Yuuri grinned widely, standing from the couch with Yuri in his arms. “It's good to see you again, Minako.” 

Minako returned his smile, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “It’s good to see you, too, kid.”

  
  
  
  


**Vitya**

_ [20:16] Yuusha! How is your visit with Minako going? _

[20:17] Vitya! Everything is going really well! It’s so nice to see her after such a long time

_ [20:30] And Yura? He is well? _

[20:32] Perfect as always. 

[20:32] I miss you, vitya

_ [20:33] I miss you too my Yuusha! We’ll be together again, soon. You’ll see. _

_ [20:34] don’t forget to send me pictures! You hardly ever update instagram! _

[20:41] [image: Yuri is asleep on Yuuri’s chest, a drool spot forming on the gray t-shirt Yuuri is wearing. Yuuri’s hair is messy and his eyes have deep bags underneath, but his smile is happy]

_ [20:41] Yuusha! _

_ [20:41] So beautiful! _

_ [20:43] Be still my beating heart! <3 <3 <3 ;))) _

  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“Okay, Yuuri, let me see what you’ve put together for your programs, so far.” Minako demanded, arms crossed over her chest. 

Currently, they were standing in the small gym off to the side of the rink, thankfully empty. Yuuri twiddled with his thumbs nervously. “W-Well, you see, I don’t really...Well, I don’t really have a program yet?”

Minako’s eyebrow twitched. “Yuuri!” She sighed. “I know that it’s still early, but you should be working on  _ something _ .” 

Yuuri glanced at Yuri out of the corner of his eye. “There’s just been...a lot going on.”

Minako sighed but nodded. “Understandable. We’ll just have to start working to piece something together. Can’t let Nikiforov get the jump on you, eh?” She grinned cheekily. 

Yuuri blushed and whined. “Minako-sensei! We both know that Victor is way out of my league. I’ll be lucky to qualify after last season.” 

“You’re a good skater, Yuuri. And I’m not just saying that. You’ve always had beautiful step sequences.” 

Yuuri sighed. “Good step sequences aren’t going to get me a gold medal. I need the  _ jumps _ , Minako-sensei.  _ That’s  _ what Victor has over me.”

Minako nudged his shoulder with a gentle smile. “Going for gold, then? What happened to all that insecurity?” 

Yuuri flushed and didn’t answer, looking away. 

“That’s what I’ve always loved about you, Yuuri. You always keep your eyes on the prize.” Her expression suddenly turned serious. “I think you could win without the jumps, Yuuri. You’ve got enough skill under your belt to get a pretty high score on choreography alone. But if that’s going to happen, you got to be confident in what you’re skating. You’ve got to be  _ sure _ .” 

Yuuri clenched his fist in frustration. “I  _ want _ to be confident, but I’m not really sure how.”

Minako nodded towards Yuri who was coloring in a coloring book on a yoga mat. “Then maybe you should try skating about something that you  _ are _ confident in.” 

“Skate about Yu-chan?” Yuuri asked, eyes wide. 

Minako shrugged. “Why not? You’re confident about him. You could stand to take some of that confidence to the ice. It seems like a perfect formula to me.”

Yuuri bit his lip, hesitant. “You think so?”

“I think it’s worth a shot.” Minako tugged playfully at a stray lock of Yuuri’s hair. “Anyway, let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s start by going through your routines from last season. We’ll work on figuring out what went wrong, there, and then we’ll work on programs for this season.”

Yuuri nodded and glanced over at Yuri one last time. 

Maybe Minako was right. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Saint Petersburg, Russia _

“And that’s all the information you need?” Victor asked, scribbling down a few more notes and adjusting his reading glasses before returning his pen to its place behind his ear. “That’s wonderful, Maxsim.”

_ “I’ll have this taken care of for you as soon as I can get it, Victor. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get the stories out of print. I’ll have my people plant some counter stories to try and repair what we can.”  _

“Excellent. I knew that I could trust you with this, Maxsim.” Victor enthused, satisfied. “And you’ll not let Yuuri know, correct? I’m afraid he gets rather intimidated when it comes to the press.”

_ “I shouldn’t need to contact Mr. Katsuki, at all, but I will be sure to let you know if I need to.” _

“In that case, I look forward to our next conversation. Have a wonderful day and say hello to your wife for me.” Victor concluded, hanging up the phone once Maxsim had responded. 

With the phone call finished, Victor tugged his reading glasses off of his nose, snapping them closed and sliding them back into their case. Thankfully, Maxsim had been working for Victor for years, so Victor could trust him to be discreet. He was well aware of how adverse Yuuri was to maintaining his public image, but with major sponsorships like the Gymboree sponsorship riding on Yuuri maintaining a proper public persona, Victor couldn’t help but to contact his publicist and see what he could do to help repair some of the damage that had been done. 

Thankfully, Maxsim was fairly confident that this could all be done without Yuuri becoming too terribly involved. Yuuri had enough on his plate with caring for Yura and dealing with Anya.

Wistfully, Victor opened up his preferred travel website, plugging in the information for flights from Saint Petersburg to Detroit. Of course, Victor couldn’t just up and leave for Detroit when he was still in the middle of preparing for the upcoming season, but the thought was tempting. 

Sensing his heartache, Makkachin nosed at his hand, demanding that he pet her. Victor smiled sadly and ran his fingers through her brown curls. “What do you think Yuuri will say about my theme this season, Makka? Do you think he will like it?” 

Makkachin turned her head, seemingly pondering what Victor was saying before boofing soundly. 

Victor chuckled and patted her head. “I’ll take that as a sign of approval.” Satisfied, he turned his attention to the notes that were scattered across his kitchen table, step sequences mapped out across the paper and jump calculations lining their margins. 

Love. His theme was love. Overdone and frankly, cliche. But Victor had never had a theme like love. Had never had someone to dedicate a theme like love to. But now that he did, he couldn’t image a better theme. Love was the best theme of all. 

  
  
  
  


_ May 2013, Detroit, United States of America _

“I can sleep on the couch, you know.” Minako offered, glancing at Yuuri’s makeshift bed on the couch. 

Yuuri waved her off. “You’re the guest so you take the bed. I’ll be fine on the couch.” 

Minako sighed but nodded. “Suit yourself. At least let me take Yu-chan for tonight. The two of you on the couch can’t be comfortable.”

Yuri whined from where he was playing with some blocks on the floor. “I want to stay with Papa!”

Yuuri  shrugged. “Let him stay out here. If he starts to get whiny, then I’ll send him in to you.”

Minako nodded and turned to start heading to Yuuri’s room. “In that case, I’ll see you both in the morning. This jet lag is awful.”

Yuuri nodded and waved her off. Once the door was closed, he turned his attention back to straightening up the living room and kitchen, putting away leftovers and putting Yuri’s toys back in their places. Halfway through making a sandwich and slicing apples for Yuri’s lunch the next day, Phichit shouldered his way through the front door, shoulders slumped in exhaustion. 

“Long day?” Yuuri guessed, looking up from the food. 

Phichit sighed and nodded. “Celestino is working me to the bone! But he really thinks that if I put in the work, I might be able to qualify for the Grand Prix, soon.” Phichit grinned and offered Yuuri a thumbs up. “I’m going to bring Thai skating to the international stage, just you wait!”

Yuuri grinned in return and offered Phichit half of the sandwich he had just finished. “You’re going to be amazing!” 

“Anyways, I’m going to slip into a coma until Celestino digs me back out. Thanks for the sandwich!” Phichit waved, shoving the sandwich in his mouth before heading back to his room. 

Yuuri grinned and turned his attention back to the food, packing the apple slices and half of the sandwich in baggies before storing them in the fridge. That done, Yuuri turned his attention to Yuri. 

“Alright, Yuri, time to brush our teeth and then bed.” 

Yuri pouted. “I’m not sleepy, Papa.” 

“Oh, I’m sure you’re not, but I’m  _ so _ sleepy that I might just need you to make sure that I go to bed.”

Yuri seemed to think over what Yuuri had said before nodding. “Okay, Papa, I can do that!”

“Thank you so much, Yu-chan! What would I do without you?” Yuuri asked, his relief only half exaggerated. 

“You would probably die.” Yuri offered, nodding seriously to himself. 

Yuuri’s jaw dropped as he watched Yuri stand and begin to head over to the bathroom. 

“C’mon, Papa. We gotta brush our teeth.” Yuri yelled from the bathroom, sink running. 

Still in shock, Yuuri followed after him. “Coming, Yu-chan. I’m coming.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yall are seriously the best. Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, they were all so incredibly kind! I hope you enjoy this chapter with Minako! 
> 
> In case you're interested, I also updated my fic, Invicta, which is a Hunger Games AU for yoi. It's going to progress in a choose your own adventure style where at the end of every chapter, there is a poll to vote for how the fic proceeds and the popular vote determines how the story ends up. I'm really excited about it, so if you're interested, feel free to check it out!
> 
> As always, I really appreciate all of my readers and look forward to chatting with you in the comments!


	17. Beginner

_May 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

“What if you put a layback Ina Bauer right about here?” Minako suggested, interrupting the fiddling around Yuuri was doing on the ice.

Yuuri stumbled on a turn, barely managing to catch himself before he turned to face her. “A-A _layback_ Ina Bauer? Minako-sensei, that’s impossible!”

Minako shrugged. “You’ve got the flexibility for it. I don’t see why not. Besides, it would definitely up the difficulty of your program.”

Yuuri sighed, adjusting his gloves. “I need to work on my jumps, first. The only quad I have under my belt is the Toe Loop and even then, I only manage to land it half of the time.”

“Your triple Axel is nearly perfect, Yuuri. You could add a Tano or a Rippon to it and it would be just as good.”

Yuuri waved her off. “We’ll worry about it after I figure out _what_ I’m even skating for.”

Celestino appeared over Minako’s shoulder, patting Yuri on the back where he was sitting next to her on the bench, fiddling with her phone. “I agree with Minako, Yuuri. You don’t need the jumps. Besides, you didn’t have them last year at the Grand Prix, what makes this year different?”

Yuuri flushed and dropped his eyes. “This year, I told Victor that I would beat him. And I intend to. It’s worth nothing if I don’t give it my all!”

“Victor has jumps, Yuuri, but you have a sense of artistry. Don’t sacrifice that in order to turn your routine into a point game.” Celestino warned. “Why not try training the Salchow if you’re so worried about having another quad?”

Yuuri ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I keep getting stuck on that one. Just when I think I’m going to stick the landing, my skates are slipping out from under me.”

Minako crossed her arms, a thoughtful look on her face. “Let me see the jump.”

Yuuri furrowed his brows in confusion, but nodded. “I’m not sure what difference it’ll make, but sure.”

Yuuri skated away from the boards and prepared himself for the Salchow, taking a deep breath and bending his knees a few times. When he was satisfied, he started moving forward, quickly gaining speed, and then he went for it.

_Tuck your arms in, eyes forward, focus on the poster in the back, arms in...and I’m losing it. I’m not going to make it. I’m falling. Falling._

_Ouch._

Yuuri sighed from where he was slumped on the ice, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.

“Papa!” Yuri cried, looking up from Minako’s phone when it didn’t seem like Yuuri planned on getting up off the ice any time, soon.

“I’m okay, Yu-chan!” Yuuri called back, lifting and arm in the air and waving at Yuri. When Yuri was satisfied and went back to playing on Minako’s phone, Yuuri let the arm fall heavily across his chest.

“I see…” Minako suddenly announced. “You’re thinking too much, Yuuri. Before you go into the jump. It’s the same problem you used to have when we practiced leaps.”

“But I wasn’t thinking about anything but the jump!” Yuuri whined.

Minako shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. You need to just go for it, don’t focus too much on technique. If you try to overanalyze everything, you’re not going to be focusing on where you body is.”

Celestino hummed beside her. “I think she might be right, Yuuri. Why don’t you try it, again, but this time, just focus on how the jump feels.”

Yuuri sighed, but pulled himself off of the ice, dusted himself off, and then backed up so that he had enough distance to try the jump, again. His arms were still shaking from his last fall, always difficult to shake off the slight residual fear that always came with trying something that he was almost certain would lead to another fall. He shook out his arms and bent his knees, and then he was off.

This time, he put all of his effort into just focusing on where his body was in relation to the ice. The vibrations running through his feet as his blades sliced through, carving a path behind him. The tingling of his fingers and the erratic beating of his heart.

Then, he went for the jump, throwing his body into the air and focusing on nothing but the cold wind against his cheeks.

His arm didn’t quite make it all the way in and this blades were wobbly at best for the five seconds that he was able to remain on them, but he _landed_ it. It was only barely a landing, but it was a _landing_.

“Ha!” Minako shouted. “I _told_ you!”

“Good job, Yuuri!” Celestino shouted, clapping his hands. “If you can land it more reliably, we can talk about adding it to your programs!”

“Good job, Papa! You did it!” Yuri cheered, nearly dropping Minako’s phone in his excitement.

Minako chuckled and snagged the phone before Yuri could drop it. “Say, why aren’t you out there landing jumps, Yu-chan?”

Yuri pouted and kicked his feet. “Papa says I’m too little. But I’m not a baby!”

Minako blinked and turned her attention back to Yuuri. “Yuuri, you started skating when you were about his age. You should let him get out there!”

Yuuri waved his hands. “But what if he falls and hurts himself? Or gets a concussion? Or breaks his leg? Or gets head trauma?”

Minako scoffed. “Oh _please_ the kid would probably be a natural if you gave him the chance.”

Between Minako’s confidence and Yuri’s puppy eyed expression, Yuuri was helpless. “Oh, alright. I’ll let you come out on the ice with me. But only for a little bit, do you hear me? And you are not to try any crazy tricks until we get you something other than rental skates!”

“ _Yes_ !” Yuri shrieked, jumping off the bench. “This is going to be so _cool_!”

Celestino took Yuri’s hand and led him over to the desk where the rental skates were stored, rummaging around for a pair of children’s skates. Yuuri sighed and slumped over the boards while Minako reached over to pat his back.

“Cheer up, kid, he’ll be great.” She paused. “Is this his first time on the ice?”

Yuuri sighed and shook his head. “Victor would sometimes piggyback him through a few loops, but I don’t think he’s been on skates of his own, before.”

“Oh he’ll be a natural, I’m sure. I can tell just from the look on his face.” Minako leaned down to whisper. “It’s the same look that you used to have.”

“Really?” Yuuri asked, turning his gaze back to where Yuri was running ahead of Celestino, skates in hand.

Minako nodded. “Yup. You were hell on wheels. You begged and begged your mom to let you start skating and when she finally said yes, we couldn’t get you off the ice. I, of course, thought that it was a great idea since you obviously loved it more than ballet, but your mother wasn’t too happy.”

Yuuri chuckled. “No, I couldn’t imagine she would be.”

“But you turned out just fine, Yuuri. Let Yuri have a chance.”

“You’re right, Minako-sensei…”

“I always am.” She grinned. She turned to face Yuri once the child had managed to return to the bench. “Alright, squirt, let’s get these knives strapped to your feet and then we’ll hand you off to your papa.”

Yuri giggled in his excitement, quickly ripping his shoes off of his feet and shoving them into the skating boots. Minako carefully pulled the laces free and tied them up from the start, pulling them tight enough that Yuri wouldn’t trip and fall. When she was satisfied, she tied the extra laces around the backs of the boots a few times before tying them off in a knot.

“There you go, kid, have at it!” Minako grinned, patting Yuri on the head.

Yuri cheered and stood hurriedly, wobbling to and fro for a moment or two before he found his balance, again. Yuuri skated to the gap in the boards, crouching down so that he could help Yuri onto the ice.

“Okay, Yu-chan, give me one of your feet.” Yuuri asked, holding a hand out.

Once Yuri hesitantly offered Yuuri his foot, holding onto the boards with a hand for balance. Yuuri slowly placed it on the ice, moving it back and forth. “See, Yu-chan? When you step out onto the ice, it’s going to be slippery. It’s all about balance. Think you can do it?”  
  
Yuri nodded hesitantly.

“Alright, then. I’m going to hold my hands out and you just step onto the ice whenever you’re ready.”

Slowly, Yuri inched forward, shuffling his skates a little bit at a time until he had no choice but to step onto the ice. He did so, very slowly, reaching for Yuuri’s outstretched hands almost immediately, but soon, he was standing up straight, his ankles not even wobbling.

Minako and Celestino cheered when Yuri succeeded and Yuri grinned, cheeks flushed.

Somewhere behind him, Yuuri could hear a camera going off, but he ignored it. It was probably Phichit returned from his break.

“Ah, Phichit!” Celestino called “Good timing! We can talk through your choreography while Yuuri’s on break.”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Phichit replied. “You’re doing great, Yu-chan!”

Yuri blushed and scooted forward to bury his face in Yuuri’s neck where he was still crouched in front of him.

Slowly, Yuuri stood, back up only enough that he and Yuri’s hands were clasped before them. “Alright, Yu-chan, let’s start skating! You just push off with one foot, and then push off with the other foot. I’ll be holding your hand the whole time, and I won’t let you fall.”

“You promise?” Yuri asked, voice wobbly.

“I _promise_.” Yuuri swore, meeting Yuri’s eyes until the child nodded.

And then, Yuri pushed off and started moving.

  
  
  


**Vitya**

_[15:03] I have my publicist doing some clean up on the articles that were published about yura_

_[15:04] nothing that you need to worry about_

[15:23] thank you, Vitya. I don’t really do well handling the press

[15:24] Normally, it wouldn’t bother me, but this is about Yu-chan, too

_[15:25] Don’t worry, I’m always here to support you._

[15:40] i miss you, vitya...

 _[15:41]_   _and I you, Yuusha..._

  
  
  


_May 2013, Detroit, United States of America_

Yuuri needn’t have worried about Yuri hurting himself. He was a complete natural on the ice, his sense of balance much better than what Yuuri would have expected. Sure, Yuri had taken a tumble once or twice, but every time he had stood almost immediately, not a single tear shed. Yuuri had been proud. Skating with Yuri had been _fun_ in a way that skating hadn’t been in a long time for Yuuri. He hadn’t wanted it to end.

Unfortunately, Yuri’s stamina had eventually run out and he grew tired. Yuuri merely scooped him up, cradling the child in his arms, and began doing slow loops around the ice, letting the movements lull Yuri until he was dead asleep in Yuuri’s arms.

After that, Yuuri had handed Yuri off to Minako who was waiting with Yuri’s blanket and she held him while Yuri continued to nap and Yuuri continued on with practice.

It had been a good day.

Now, Yuuri was fumbling around in the kitchen, cleaning up the mess from dinner and packing away pretzels and applesauce for tomorrow’s lunch. When that was done, he glanced over to the bathroom to see that Minako had finished up her shower and locked herself away in Yuuri’s bathroom.

“Yu-chan, it’s time for a bath!” Yuuri called, washing his hands.

“No!” Yuri called, throwing down his toys and scrambling to hide behind the window curtains.

Yuuri sighed. “C’mon, Yu-chan. You’re stinky.”

“I’m not stinky!” Yuri panicked. “ _You’re_ stinky!”

Quickly, before Yuri could think to move, Yuuri crept closer, making sure to stay silent. However, Yuri must have spotted Yuuri’s feet from behind the curtain because suddenly, the child shrieked and attempted to make a run for it. Before Yuri could make it past Yuuri, Yuuri scooped him up, ignoring how Yuri kicked and screamed the whole way.

“ _Papa_ …!” Yuri whined, eventually giving up as Yuuri deposited him on the bathroom floor and locked the door behind them.

Yuuri started the water in the tub, checking the temperature so that it wouldn’t be too hot before plugging the bottom of the tub and letting it run. “Okay, Yu-chan, pick out what toys you want.”

Yuri pouted and turned to the mesh bag that was hanging on the wall of the tub from a stick-on plastic hook. Yuuri pulled it down from its hook and handed it off to Yuri, letting the child dig around in it until he had unearthed a plastic cup, an action figure with flippers on his feet, and a ball that fills with water and spits it back out.

Satisfied with his choices, Yuri allowed Yuuri to undress him and usher him into the tub. Carefully, Yuuri grabbed the plastic cup and used it to wet Yuri’s hair, rubbing in a no-tears shampoo once Yuri’s long hair was sufficiently wet.

The bath went by relatively quickly. Yuuri even managed to convince Yuri to brush his teeth with little fight. By the time their entire nighttime routine was finished and Yuri had moisturizer rubbed into his skin and a children’s chapstick on his lips, Yuuri was exhausted.

He told Yuri to head to the sofa and quickly washed himself up, brushed his teeth, and changed into some pajamas, himself.

Once he returned to the sofa, Yuri was already curled him, blanket clutched in one tiny fist and thumb secure in his mouth. Gently, Yuuri scooped him up and tugged his thumb free from his mouth. Really, he should be more strict about breaking that habit, but Yuuri simply didn’t have the energy for much reinforcing that night.

“Did you have a fun day, Yu-chan?” Yuuri asked once he was lying back on the sofa, Yuri’s head tucked under his chin. With the two of them on the sofa, Yuuri was almost falling off, but he didn’t mind.

“It was the _best_ day, Papa.” Yuri whispered in a sleepy voice.

Yuuri hummed. “And did you have fun skating?”

Yuri nodded slowly. “It was the funnest…” He yawned widely. “One day, I’m gonna skate like you, Papa.”

Suddenly, Yuuri was wide awake, eyes wide.

Like him?

Why would _anyone_ want to skate like Yuuri Katsuki?

He had made a complete fool of himself last season and sure, Yuri didn’t exactly know or understand just how much of an international fool Yuuri had made of himself, but the child had seen _Victor Nikiforov_ skate before.

“What about Victor, Yu-chan? Don’t you want to skate like him?” Yuuri asked, voice a delicate thing.

Yuri whined and shook his head, burying his face even further in Yuuri’s neck. “Uh-uh. I don’t wanna skate like that old-man. I wanna skate like _you_ , Papa.”

Yuuri swallowed thickly and pulled Yuri impossibly closer, hugging the child to his chest.

“Night-night, Papa…” Yuri whispered, mostly asleep.

“Night-night, Yu-chan…” Yuuri whispered back, though he was sure Yuri didn’t hear him.

Yuri wanted to skate like _him_ . Like _Yuuri Katsuki_.

Yuuri had never had someone say that to him.

He had to use this season to make Yuri proud. To show him that Yuuri was worth skating like. Forget the sponsorships and the petty, pretend rivalry with Victor. Forget all of that.

Yuuri had to skate this season for Yuri. Minako had been right. _Yuri_ was what made Yuuri confident. But not because Yuuri thought that he was a good parent to the boy. No, Yuri made him confident because Yuri _believed_ in him. Yuuri had to express that with his programs. Had to capture that sentiment on the ice because he knew with a sudden certainty that it would make him unbeatable.

But how?

He racked his brain for a moment or two, staring up at the dark ceiling of the living room, but when that hit a dead end, Yuuri slowly stood from the couch, gently turning Yuri so that he wouldn’t notice that Yuuri was gone. He needed help from someone else. Someone who would know exactly how to express what he was trying to express.

Yuuri headed towards his room, knocking softly on the closed door.

“Minako-sensei…” Yuuri hissed urgently. And then louder, “Minako- _sensei_!”

He heard a quiet groan from inside and them after a few minutes of shuffling, Minako threw open the door leveling Yuuri with a glare nasty enough to pulverize him. She scanned him up and down before meeting his eyes. Apparently, whatever she saw there was tell.

“Ugh…” She groaned, thunking her head against the doorframe. “Why do these things always happen to me in the middle of the night?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay another chapter! I'm trying to bang out as many of these as I can before work starts up, again. 
> 
> I apologize for how much I was talking out of my ass about figure skating at the beginning of the chapter. I enjoy casually watching figure skating, but I'm nowhere near an expert
> 
> Also, like I mentioned in my last chapter, I've been updating my hunger games au, Invicta, pretty regularly, as well, so check that out if that sounds interesting to you!
> 
> As always, I look forward to chatting with yall in the comments!


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